Forget-Me-Nots and Violets
by fleets
Summary: Sequel to When I Return: What would you do if the person you loved forgot every memory you shared together? An accident causes Zelda to conveniently lose her memories of Vaati. An accident shrouded by politics. An accident that was not an accident. Someone is out to stir trouble in Hyrule, and Vaati is determined to find out who. Post FS VaatixZelda
1. It's Complicated

fleets: Hello, and welcome to my newest story project, Forget-Me-Nots and Violets! This is a sequel to the VaaZel story I wrote earlier, When I Return (WIR), but I think you would still be able to enjoy it even if you haven't read that story (as long as you come to terms with the fact that the pairing already happened) :P  
>I wasn't really planning to write this story in the sense that I thought that once I finished WIR, that would be it. I would retire and spend the rest of my free time doing something actually meaningful, like watching TV. It turns out that the conclusion of WIR gave me even more questions to consider, and well, here we are.<p>

It won't be as pairing focused as it was in WIR since it's Adventure/Romance, but hey we'll see, right? It's not like I know what I'm doing.

Setting is Post-FS, and Pre-FSA, for those of you who skipped WIR. We're veering way off canon now though since it's assumed that Vaati survived the events of FS.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except OC concepts. Yeah.  
>Disclaimer 2: My proofreading is not perfect.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: It's Complicated<strong>

It was one year since that fateful day when everything changed. One year, since Princess Zelda was kidnapped by the wind mage Vaati and the hero set out to save her.

Things were never really the same after that.

Zelda sighed, staring at the paperwork that needed her attention and brushed a strand of her reddish blond hair away from her face. She didn't want to deal with them, because she knew that most of them were going to be about the same thing: the monsters roaming Hyrule. One year after she'd returned to Hyrule with Vaati, she still hadn't been able to convince her people to coexist with monsters. She'd tried. She'd desperately tried with the help of Vaati to somehow come to a compromise between Hylians and monsters so they wouldn't have to be caught up in another war between each other ever again. The monsters were fairly reasonable, and it seemed that they would listen to her orders simply because she'd proven that she was better than them. Her own people, on the other hand, were exasperatingly difficult to deal with and many were absolutely adamant that there was no other way to continue than to destroy all monsters.

With an unhappy frown, she tapped the side of her face, slumped forward on her desk and wondered what to do. It didn't help that no one supported her relationship with the sorcerer (she still felt it was too early to reveal to everyone that she'd actually agreed to a marriage… they were in shock enough that she was letting Vaati stand next to her), and it seemed that everyone she knew was bent on trying to convince her that Vaati had done something to her head.

"It's not fair, Impa," Zelda pushed away the papers, annoyed, and she glanced towards the tall, middle-aged woman with white hair who'd entered the room. Zelda's caretaker and most trusted servant looked up at her but questioningly as the princess muttered under her breath, "I trust my judgment of him. Why can't they trust me?"

Impa walked over and glanced out the window. There was a small group of gatherers below, just outside the castle gates, protesting. She thought she could make out an anti-monster sign. Another an anti-Vaati sign. At the very least there were no anti-Zelda signs, but Impa figured it would only be a matter of time before those started appearing. The caretaker quickly closed the blinds; the princess was stressed enough, and she didn't need to see unhappy people right outside her window. "You were _kidnapped_, princess, and the kingdom suffered about a month of turmoil during your absence," Impa answered firmly, but with an apologetic edge.

"I know…" Zelda grumbled with a small wince. She'd heard from Impa all of the messy details of the state of her kingdom during her kidnapping before, and it filled her with guilt whenever she thought about it. Apparently there had been much confusion and fear after she'd been kidnapped, and security had heightened to the point that the knights had cut their break hours so that they could patrol the kingdom for longer periods of time. Furthermore, there had been a scramble to organize a coalition of powerful magic users, mostly priestesses, who would be able to defend against a monster attack. Fewer people left their homes after dark, and the populace had walked the streets with fearful sidelong glances. It was no surprise, then that the people believed that the princess was mentally unsound: there was no way she wouldn't have reassured her kingdom if Vaati wasn't actually doing horrible things to her.

No way would she have forgotten to leave a memo that things were okay, and that she would be back soon.

Therefore, it _had_ to be the case that Vaati had done something to her head to make her say such things like "I trust him."

Zelda sighed. "It's complicated."

"I have no doubt," Impa nodded gravely. She absentmindedly picked up a dagger that Zelda had left on her desk. These days the princess had begun to place weapons in very obvious places, as though visibly showing her power. They'd gotten into an argument earlier about it, that the princess's recent behavior wasn't representative of Hyrule's peaceful nature, but Zelda had refused to budge saying it was necessary to keep the monsters in line. "They need to see that we're dangerous and we mean it," Zelda had said with a look that suggested she'd fought a few tremendous battles before. Impa had yielded, but she couldn't help comparing the new Zelda to the old Zelda who preferred peace talks over threats, and it made Impa uneasy. "The people are frightened still, princess, even though you claim it is a peaceful time. Not many understand why you feel it necessary to treat the violent monsters as the kingdom's subjects."

"They are not violent if you understand their rules, Impa," Zelda answered sternly. She tried not to sound impatient, but it was difficult considering this was the kind of conversation she felt she had to repeat every single day, even to the same people. They just didn't get it. "In fact, after some of the reports I've been hearing I'm inclined to believe that _we're_ the violent ones. We could end this cycle, Impa!" Zelda waved her hands exasperatedly, her pink bow bobbing on her head almost angrily with her, "If I succeed then we would not have to fear monsters again."

"A noble vision, but I'm not convinced it is possible. There is too much history between us, and one that is full of violence." Impa placed the dagger back down on the table, shaking her head. Her hand absentmindedly moved to her hip where there was still a scar from a lizalfos attack years ago. "Just last week a group of merchants were attacked by Moldorm. Can you imagine how devastating that was?"

"They were only attacked because they attacked first. I gave the monsters a direct order not to attack any Hylians unless it is out of self-defense," Zelda's eyes flared, offended.

Zelda's caretaker couldn't hide her sigh. "You would trust monsters over your own people?"

"The monsters _are_ my people now," Zelda said with an edge to her voice, "And yes, I do trust them. They're painfully simple in that regard." The princess stared at the space between her hands, glaring at nothing in particular. She hadn't always looked so annoyed about her kingdom's matters, but these days she just found it so easy to be angry and upset at everything she'd heard. The ignorance in her kingdom upset her too much, and sometimes she couldn't help but feel so alone. Not even Impa, her most trusted caretaker and companion even before she was old enough to walk, didn't seem to understand her on the matter of monsters. "Besides, I've heard some rumors that there are so-called 'monster tamers' running about who've been issuing challenges to the most powerful monsters in the land in the hopes that they can earn the respect of the monsters like I had done," Zelda clenched her fists. "Do you know how many challenges the Helmaroc King said he'd taken? Of course we have a lot of casualties, these 'tamers' don't know what they're going against! The fact that they're calling themselves tamers is their first mistake, since monsters should be respected as an equal to be able to gain their respect in kind. They're not animals to be tamed! Their second mistake is that they are picking fights without expecting pain. I almost died when I was challenged by the Helmaroc King!" She looked up at Impa who was watching her silently. Then, the princess rested her head in her hands and muttered under her breath. "Honestly I am disappointed by my own kingdom's stupidity sometimes…"

"You've been quite cynical as of late, princess," Impa observed.

Zelda knew what the Sheikah guardian really meant, even though the words themselves hadn't been spoken. What Impa had really meant to say was, "You're sounding a lot like Vaati." It was an accusation that Zelda had heard all too often in the past year, and although no one had ever said it directly to her face, she could often catch bits and pieces of rumors - some gossip in the halls, or whispers in the servants' quarters - that she was under Vaati's curse of some kind. That she wasn't herself.

In other words, people thought she was crazy.

"And you are perfect that way, Zelda."

Zelda and Impa turned their heads to the sound of a sly voice in the corner of the room. Without them knowing, Vaati had opened the window and had snuck into the room, and was now leaning against a bookcase with a smug grin on his face. His red eyes gleamed from under the shadow of the purple and gold cap that he rarely took off of his head. "Hello," he added with a slight nod towards the Sheikah who was glaring at him coldly.

"You are not supposed to be here, sorcerer," Impa finally said with a tight-lipped frown. Her hands twitched against her lithe figure like a cougar ready to strike.

"Well that's for the princess to decide, isn't it?" Vaati shrugged carelessly, but with a dangerous tone in his voice that indicated he wasn't impressed with Impa's welcome.

Zelda looked back between the two from behind her desk, and then finally stood up tiredly. She walked over to Vaati who greeted her with a bright smile that was nothing like his sneer from earlier. The princess bit her lip and she lowered her gaze. He wasn't going to be happy when he heard her request. "Actually, Vaati, I really am busy right now and I can't do with distractions," she took his hand in hers apologetically, but with a small squeeze that indicated she was serious. "I'm sorry."

The smile vanished from the sorcerer's face in a flash, and it was replaced by a bitter scowl. "You've been 'busy' almost every day since you introduced me to Hyrule," he mumbled, dejected and accusing, unable to hide the disappointment. It made it worse that Impa's frown now had a tiny, victorious upward curve towards it.

"Ruling a kingdom isn't easy, Vaati!" Zelda finally snapped, taking him by surprise. "Did you think that, if you became king, you could just fool around all day and the kingdom would just run itself? You're acting like a child!"

The room fell dead quiet for several long, uncomfortable seconds after Zelda's outburst, and the princess immediately regretted it when she saw the blank look of shock on Vaati's face like that time she'd slapped him at the Palace of Winds. Impa shifted her weight and glanced out the window with a self-satisfied look that the wind mage got what was coming to him. Guilt crept up on the princess for taking her stress out on him like that, but at the same time a horrible thought nagged that all of this was partly his fault. Vaati was extremely immature in his understanding of what being a ruler of a kingdom actually entailed, and it frustrated Zelda to no end with his naïve incomprehension. Of course he _said_ he understood it, but she didn't believe he really knew what it meant regarding expectations of self-sacrifice. Still, it wasn't completely his fault for not understanding her stress: not many other people did, and in this regard she was incredibly alone. Finally, Zelda stammered, "…I-I'm sorry. I'm just really stressed and now isn't a good time."

"Apparently," Vaati muttered under his breath, picking at his nails absentmindedly but clearly bothered by her words. His annoyance quickly vanished, however, when his face lit up mischievously and he vanished into the air. Zelda squeaked in surprise and punched him lightly on his shoulder when he reappeared behind her and grabbed her by the waist. "Then it's my job as the villain to steal you away somewhere where you wouldn't be able to think about what the people are doing, isn't it?" he purred. The wind mage sneered at Impa who was glaring daggers at him, looking positively ready to snap his neck.

"Vaati!" Zelda couldn't help but laugh, and then she saw Impa looking at them both disapprovingly and she straightened out her dress with a serious expression. "Er, I mean, did you do what I asked?" She steered the conversation back to business. Now wasn't the time for fooling around, even though she appreciated the sorcerer's (somewhat annoying) attempt to take her away from work. Well, it wasn't fair to call it annoying because a part of her didn't mind them at all, but the princess in her knew how important her responsibilities were. Unlike _someone_ here.

"The two headed dragon Gleeok won't be raiding Hyrule's crypts again, dear," Vaati hooked Zelda's hair behind her ears softly. Zelda might have blushed, once, but she was used to his overt displays of affection in front of others, in this case Impa, to get a rise from them. She glanced to her right where he rested his chin on her shoulder, and she rolled her eyes when he was all smiles at the look on Impa's face. This made him grin even more.

"Thank you," she said shortly.

Vaati didn't miss that barely-there hint of a smile on the princess's face behind her act of aloofness. "Half a day's work, really. Maybe you should let me take care of your problem with the Hylians?" His fingers moved down towards her hands and he twined her fingers in his. "I wager I can solve your problems with a ten minute storm."

Zelda, who had been about to let him hold her hands, suddenly stiffened and pulled free, "No. What works for monsters will not work for Hylians," she said sternly.

"Sure they do. You're much too soft, Zelda. Let me handle this," disappointment flashed across his face again when the princess refused to play along.

However, this was a topic that the princess absolutely refused to even joke about, given the state of current affairs. "No, Vaati. We had an agreement. I will handle the Hylians, and you can help me with the monsters."

"What I don't understand is this: why can't you just let me flatten an annoying village, hmm? It weeds out the trouble makers and sets an example for the other people who were even thinking of causing trouble."

"And this is exactly why I need you to leave the Hylians to _me_."

Vaati scoffed. "Why? My idea makes perfect sense."

"Vaati, promise me you won't do anything that would make it more difficult for the public to accept you and the monsters," Zelda pleaded.

"What? I don't care what they think of me."

"Promise me!"

The sorcerer sneered with a malice that did nothing to put the princess at ease. "If they upset you in any way you can be damn sure they're going to learn a new definition for 'inclement weather.'"

"_Please_."

Vaati had his arms crossed over his chest, his cape pulled over his stiff shoulders. He said nothing for a few seconds, before giving a curt, tart, "Fine."

Zelda sighed again, and glanced at Impa who was standing in the corner with that murderous aura around her. Although the princess didn't mind Vaati's visits too much, it was true that he seemed to bring trouble whenever he appeared, and today wasn't one of those days where she could afford trouble. She had a meeting with a priestess later today, and she had to figure out what to do about the people who were in conflict with the monsters, and she had to prepare for her meeting with a foreign ambassador for tomorrow. There were so many things she had to be doing and a distraction wasn't going to do anything to help. "Vaati, I'm really sorry but I need some time without any distractions right now."

She was afraid for a moment that he might refuse, and in a stubborn fit he would do something outrageous to get his way. Like… kidnap her for instance. After a while, however, he gave one last absentminded shrug and moved towards the door.

"Thank you," she said gratefully, giving him a small kiss on his cheek before he left. He shrugged that away too, like it wasn't a big deal. She smiled inwardly; they'd sure come a long way since that time when he'd kidnapped her so he could force her to marry him.

"I don't know what you see in him, princess."

Zelda stirred at the sound of Impa's disapproving voice. She grimaced. "It's complicated," she repeated her statement from earlier.

Impa had relaxed somewhat with the departure of the wind mage, but the way her face was pulled taut suggested she was still disconcerted by his visit and upset by his sudden, unexpected appearance. It couldn't be helped: after all, it was her duty to protect the princess of Hyrule, but how could she guard against unwanted characters when Vaati could just appear and reappear wherever he pleased? "A lot of the public's discontent will vanish with him gone. Very few understand why the evil sorcerer is one of the princess's closest confidantes now," she sniffed.

"He's not evil," Zelda replied quickly. Then, she thought about the statements he'd made earlier indicating his willingness to hurt her people. She knew where he was coming from but it didn't really give him a good case of being a white knight, especially when his track record of being a good suitor was already very terrible. From Impa's point of view, the wind mage was a violent, impatient, bratty, and selfish kidnapper who just so happened to be the evil sealed away for hundreds of years because of even more atrocities committed back before they were born. Yes, his profile was really very perfect for a princess like her. Not. "Really," Zelda emphasized, although uncertainly, since she knew how ridiculous she sounded, "He can be sweet if you let him."

"You're thinking with your heart, princess, not your head," Impa lectured, "If you understood duty, if you understood the consequences of such a relationship-"

And that was when Zelda snapped. For the past year she'd heard things like this, and it was frustrating because no one understood that everything she did, was for the sake of duty. Not once did she favor her own wants over the needs of her kingdom, and yet these days the people accused her of not thinking about her people. Her own people didn't believe it. Vaati believed it but belittled her for it, since he didn't understand what duty meant. They didn't understand. He didn't understand. Sometimes she wanted to scream. "Do not talk to me about duty when you don't know anything!" She cried.

Impa looked at her in surprise. Then, she lowered her gaze and the woman bowed her head slowly. "I apologize, princess."

The door closed with a small click as Zelda's guardian left the room. Zelda walked over to her desk and flopped back down onto the red velvet chair, her dress bunching up around her feet as she cradled her knees. She felt bad about her outburst, but at the same time she felt that Impa deserved it. They all deserved it.

Zelda shook her head, nudging those terrible thoughts aside. They were kind of right, she supposed. Before she met Vaati she'd been a fierce yet kind ruler who was peaceful and serene. They gave her nicknames that reflected her warm heart, like Lady of Wisdom or Goddess Hylia, and she listened to her people's worries with patience. Now she was almost always perpetually annoyed by the state of her kingdom, unable to understand why no one else could see her vision of peace. For the first time in her life she called her own subjects stupid, a horrible habit she must have picked up from the sorcerer unknowingly. Now she was simply a fierce ruler. They adored her but they feared her. Was this really what she wanted?

"Impa I'm sorry."

It seemed like all she was doing was apologizing lately.

XXXXXXXXXXX

About an hour later, the princess had finished running her eyes over most of the papers piled on her desk. Just as she'd suspected, most of them had been about the monster issue, and everyone's general discontent that monsters were roaming free in Hyrule. She knew it would be hard to let the people understand her decision to put monsters under her wing, but she'd never really imagined things would be so stressful. The monsters themselves, on the other hand… "Maribel."

"Yes, princess?" A poe stuck its head out from the ceiling, and then floated down slowly so that it was eye level with the princess. It was wearing a grey cowl with a wilted dry flower pinned on its head. Even though Maribel claimed she hated flowers for being too cheerful, she'd taken a liking to them once she realized they could look dead and gloomy once they withered. Maribel was one of the poes that Zelda had encountered at the Palace of Winds, and one she'd invited to lay residence at Hyrule castle. The ghost was snappy and had a tendency to complain a lot, but there was something about the brutal honesty of the monster that Zelda liked. Even though the Helmaroc King was more of her advisor when it came to monster affairs, she found Maribel easier to talk to and much less intimidating. The ghost's bright yellow eyes watched her curiously, wondering why it had been summoned.

Zelda played with a quill pen in her hands, picking it up and putting it back in the inkwell and then picking it up again absentmindedly. The feather was purple and white, with a band of maroon red. "Tell me, are the monsters satisfied?" she asked without looking at the poe. "Do they like me as a ruler?"

Maribel floated over, her lantern's metal clanking ringing with each swoop. "Ugh, Hylians and their obsession with being liked!" Maribel scoffed. Then, she covered her ghostly mouth apologetically with a wiry hand. "Oh, I'm sorry did I say that out loud?" The poe giggled lightly, and then tilted her head thoughtfully. "Hmm, well I think we're still getting used to the fact that we're actually winning for once."

"Winning?" Zelda asked.

Maribel nodded. "Yeah, like, before we were always trying to fight you since you paraded around like the land was yours even though you Light dwellers are squishy and hilariously weak. Oops, I said that out loud. Now it's like everyone is on the winning side and there's no one left to fight."

Zelda considered this fact for some time. She'd suspected as much, that now that she'd effectively prohibited the monsters from fighting Hylians, they had run out of things to fight. She'd spent so much time this past year trying to calm down her own people, the Hylians, that she hadn't really been able to spend much time thinking about how this was all affecting the monsters. "Are the monsters dissatisfied because of this? The fact that everyone is on the same side?" The princess was almost scared about the answer, and she prepared for the worst of having to think about even more problems she would have to solve.

Maribel was quick to answer with a small shrug. "Not really. I mean it's really boring now with the 'don't attack Hylians' rule, but it's not that bad. Especially since the Hylians give us an excuse to _murder_ them whenever they scream and attack us first. Hylians are so funny!" the poe laughed. "Ah, I said that out loud didn't I?"

Zelda returned a tired smile. "You're really tolerant of your situation."

"Huh? Well it's not like we have a choice to go against you or Lord Vaati's orders." Maribel sounded confused by the princess's surprise.

"Even if it's at the cost of your own happiness?"

Now Maribel was really confused, and she scratched her ghostly head. "I don't really understand your question, my Lady."

"Never mind." Zelda waved the thought away. She still had to get used to the fact that monsters, for the most part, really didn't think anything was wrong for following orders unquestioningly from those in power. According to them, it was just the way it was that someone stronger could do whatever they wished. If she told Maribel to die in a fire (which she would _never_ say since that was a terrible thing to say to anyone) the poe would probably do it without question. It sometimes drove her mad that the monsters, some who she was close with like Maribel, didn't seem to have any kind of self-worth. The only time they ever fought back was if they thought the other party was growing weak or losing influence, and she knew that if the day came when the monsters didn't think highly of her anymore then even Maribel, the poe she liked to consider a friend, wouldn't think twice about attacking her. "Maybe we can build a coliseum where the monsters can compete and fight each other if they wished. It sounds like an awful, bloody kind of entertainment but if it's something the monsters would like…"

The poe perked up, the lantern swinging in the air and casting an eerie glow around the room. "That sounds more exciting than holding hands with slimy Hylians, definitely. Oh, I said that out-"

Zelda laughed. "Haha, it's fine, Maribel. I actually really appreciate your blunt opinions about us. It's a refreshing change from what I've had to deal with from other people, whispering behind my back and such." She smiled when the poe mumbled her thanks. "Thank you, Maribel. You may go now."

Just as the poe vanished into the walls, there was a knock at the door. It was Impa again, and there was a fleeting look of vexation when she noticed the lingering glow from Maribel's lantern when she opened the door. It worried Impa that Zelda was so close to the monsters now.

"Princess, Lady Elise is downstairs. She would like an audience with you," Impa said, not mentioning the fact that she noticed Maribel had been in the room earlier.

Zelda frowned unhappily, not looking forward to her meeting with the priestess. It was days like this where she wanted nothing more than for Vaati to snatch her away to the Palace of Winds, away from all of the politics and the responsibilities. Monsters were the least of her worries. Her own people were giving her more headaches than the supposedly evil monsters.

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><p>fleets: Well, there's that. Not much else to say, other than thank you for reading so far! :D<p> 


	2. Link

fleets: Wow thank you for everyone's encouragement after the last chapter! I'm happy to hear about your interest in WIR's sequel. I just hope I can deliver!

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Link<strong>

Zelda's visitor was a young woman right around the same age as her dressed completely in white. She wore a white dress that was simple yet elegant, and her white hair was pulled back in two buns on the side of her head. A white veil trailed from her hair. Even her eyes were ash grey, giving her whole appearance a generalization of "white." When the young woman walked towards the throne, Zelda put on her polite smile. It was warm at first glance, but those who knew her well would recognize it as her outside face, one that was simply a mask of necessity. She knew what this visit was going to be about, and it wasn't one she was looking forward to.

"Welcome, White Maiden," Zelda bowed her head as the woman curtsied. "Elise, it's been too long," she extended a hand in an attempt to bring the conversation to a warmer topic than one she knew they were going to address.

"Your highness," Elise addressed respectfully, but pretended not to notice the outstretched hand. Her bow was the perfect image of loyalty, but at the same time there was a casual flair that was only recognizable to a close observer. In fact, the entire exchange was somewhat awkward, as though the two women were conflicted over whether or not to greet each other like friends or to keep their meeting strictly businesslike.

The truth was that Zelda knew Elise since they were children, and Elise had visited the castle often as her parents had the bloodline of the sacred sages. Elise was two years younger than Zelda, and the other girl looked to the princess as a mentor and an older sister. They were friends, once. Well, that was a weird way of phrasing it: Zelda supposed they were still friends. Still, there was a distance between them now, mostly because of their differing viewpoints. Elise was a priestess who took her duties to Her Grace and the Goddesses very seriously, and her beliefs led her to address the princess as one with the blood of Hylia herself. Of course it wasn't just Elise who believed this; many of her subjects did. Still, it was awkward for Zelda when she didn't consider herself to be an incarnation of a goddess. She much rather her people treated her like a normal person, capable of making human mistakes. "You know I'd rather you call me Zelda, Elise," Zelda smiled, and put her hand back towards her side.

Elise shook her head. "No, princess, formality has a place. I do not come to you for frivolous affairs this time."

Even though Zelda was more than willing to roll her eyes tiredly like Vaati might have done, she kept her diplomatic composure and nodded with a serene smile. It was one of those things she'd been naturally good at, and also trained to do since she was a child. With both of her parents gone, she'd learned at a young age about the virtues of patience and sacrifice, two qualities that had been demanded of her as the ruler of Hyrule. "Of course," Zelda replied, "what is it that you wished to speak to me about?"

"I would like to speak on behalf of the people that the monster situation is getting out of hand," Elise said with determination in her eyes.

_Oh how she looks as I once looked,_ Zelda thought as she gazed on the other girl's face. Elise stood proudly, her chin held high and her fists clenched lightly, resolute in her goal to bring justice against the monsters. There was no mercy towards Hyrule's nonhuman creatures. The princess absentmindedly played with the ring the sorcerer had given her. "No, Elise, we've already discussed this before."

"And I expected you would say so," Elise answered promptly, "which is why my next proposal is regarding the revival of the seven maidens."

Zelda leaned back against the throne, mild surprise on her face. "Oh? That old project?" Zelda had a vague recollection of the project that Elise spoke of. Before the princess had been kidnapped by Vaati, there had been some talk amongst several powerful families whose women had inherited some form of magical powers. The discussion had focused on gathering seven of these women, Zelda included, to form a coalition that could seal away any threat with their light magic. The threat in question at the time had been none other than Vaati himself, and the project had been first suggested when Zelda had noticed that the seal on the Four Sword weakened over time. Elise had been one of the picks as "the White Maiden," and she had spearheaded the proposal along with the princess.

"Yes," Elise clarified, "I believe it is necessary and prudent for us to have some means to seal away the most powerful monsters in the land. At any given moment, Hyrule can come under attack by a terrible beast and we would be ill prepared to fight against a threat of that nature. The seven maidens would-"

"Would be unnecessary," Zelda finished gently. "Vaati and myself would be able to handle such matters. I do not want to frighten my subjects by suggesting the monsters are creatures to fear. Appointing the seven maidens would be a clear message that I suspect the monsters would disobey me."

"Your highness, if I may speak boldly," Elise said curtly, "Many, myself included, do not believe that Vaati is someone we should depend on for help."

"Nevertheless, he is invaluable to Hyrule and its relations to the monsters," Zelda's smile almost wavered.

"Should he go on another rampage we will have no means to seal him without the help of Link."

"He will not go on a rampage under my authority," Zelda said, a hint of irritation beginning to creep into her voice. The princess was patient, but even she had a breaking point and this was a topic she'd tired of for the past year.

"How can you be so sure?"

Zelda didn't hold back her sigh this time. "Elise, I know our views differ but I want you to trust me on this." When she saw the look of surprise on the other girl's face from hearing the princess sounding annoyed, she added gently, "You do not have to trust Vaati, but I ask that you trust me."

Elise bit her lip, and her feet fidgeted under her dress. The priestess appeared conflicted on whether or not to press the issue. In the end, Elise looked up determinedly; she needed to let Zelda know her mistake, even if it cost her friendship. Although the princess was rarely wrong, this was something she knew that Zelda was mistaken. "Your highness, the greatest problem I see is that we are going against our teachings by accepting the monsters. You are aware how many of your subjects go by the teachings of the Goddess Hylia."

Zelda nodded. She prepared herself for the wreckage that would no doubt result from the carriage that Elise seemed determined to drive to its doom. "Yes, I do know that quite well."

"Then you _must_ know that the monsters are the servants of the Demon Lord Demise-"

"According to your beliefs, yes," Zelda corrected.

"According to the beliefs of the _many_ who follow Hylia's teachings," Elise insisted.

"Perhaps it's time for a change, then, Elise."

"But we're going against the very teachings of Hylia!"

"I am not as devout a follower as you, Elise, but I was always under the impression that Hylia taught tolerance and kindness." Zelda replied calmly. She respected the beliefs of her subjects, but interpreting the teachings of Hylia had always been a tricky topic of discussion. Religion held her country together in some ways, but other times it gave her more than enough to worry about. It made it even more difficult when she herself was a big part of many of the religious beliefs in her kingdom, what with the representation of herself as Hylia's descendant and all. It caused a lot of controversy and chaos if she ever contradicted the teachings.

Like now.

"But Demise…" The priestess was visibly distraught now, since the princess herself had made it clear that she did not agree with what many of Hylia's followers interpreted from the teachings.

Zelda held up a hand, "And also forgiveness. Elise, I cannot budge on this matter. I apologize, but I must ask you to leave."

A few minutes later, Zelda watched as the door closed behind the disappointed priestess. Although Elise had said nothing in response to Zelda's last words, they way her shoulders hunched slightly and the way she walked quickly away seemed to say silently that the princess was wrong.

Zelda sighed. She did that a lot these days. She never really liked politics and she'd ruled her kingdom out of a sense of duty but these days it was even more of a nightmare; given the choice, she'd drop her responsibilities all together to live the life of… well… normal people. She felt sorry for Elise, and she still saw so much of her old self in the headstrong priestess. There was a reason they'd worked together to organize the idea for the seven maidens after all…

She thought about Vaati and how he'd been so caught up with the idea of "taking Hyrule by storm," as he liked to call it. Well, a year had already passed and there was no metaphoric storm taking anywhere, unless she counted those tornadoes that showed up in random places around Hyrule whenever Vaati was bored. Apparently Vaati liked to talk big and revel in the moment of standing on a podium of self-crafted grandeur, but was more often than not too lazy to actually go through with some of the things he said. For the most part, he'd left Zelda alone to handle all of the political mess and no longer seemed too keen on taking the ruling position after he saw all of the nuisances she had to deal with daily. All he'd wanted was the title without the actual responsibility.

Ok, so, he _did_ help out with dealing with the monsters and it was true that she'd been the one preventing him from doing anything with the Hylians. Still, that was because she knew Vaati wouldn't have the patience and understanding to rule her people justly.

Zelda frowned and she stood up from her throne, more than ready to go out and have some time to herself. If only she didn't have a conscience… how easy would it be, then? If only she could be selfish and not want the best for everyone, then she could save herself a lot of the burdens she was carrying on her shoulders. Wouldn't it be so much easier to be a bad ruler?

It was then that her thoughts wandered to Link. He'd probably tell her that she was an amazing person to do everything she did for the sake of her people, but that she didn't have to do it alone. He'd always be there, in that familiar, unavoidable green tunic with a cheerful, encouraging smile on his face, sharing with her the courage to chase away her cynical thoughts. As the princess walked past the guards who saluted her on her way out, she wondered: where was Link?

In the past year she'd only seen him about three times, when before she'd almost seen him at least once a week. She looked down at the ring on her hand sadly. He'd stopped visiting her lately. Was it because he didn't want to see her with Vaati?

Zelda stopped in her tracks in the middle of the hall, the paintings of old kings and queens looking down at her judgmentally. No… it wasn't that he'd stopped visiting. It was that she'd stopped visiting him. Back before she'd met Vaati, she'd been the one to sneak out of the castle to spend some time with the blond boy to find a quiet hour where she didn't have to worry about her responsibilities as a princess. It wasn't that Link had changed. She had changed.

_I wonder what Link thinks of me now._

She frowned at the thought. She tried to convince herself that she hadn't consciously avoided Link, and that she'd just been too busy to find the time to visit especially now that she had Vaati to worry about, but a part of her knew that wasn't entirely true. After all, it had been awkward facing Link again and holding a normal conversation after what had happened at the Palace of Winds. Both of them had nearly shattered each other's trust by the things that had been said there, and although neither of them brought it up, part of it had been her fault. Link had spent weeks trying to save her, and yet she'd forgotten all about him and even worse, actually become close to her kidnapper. Of course he wouldn't understand…

Zelda shook her head. It was an unpleasant thought.

"I'm going to go see Link," Zelda said aloud to herself resolutely. Link was, or had been, one of her best friends. At a time when she was burning all of the bridges around her because of her monster dilemma, she really needed to start mending the ones that had once been important. Friends were something she really needed right now.

XXXXXXXX

Link woke with a start to someone tapping on the window, and he almost fell onto the floor from his bed in a panic, thinking Smith had caught him napping again instead of working. Stammering a string of apologies out of habit, he noticed that no one was yanking his ear and dragging him back to work after a few seconds. The house was empty, and the slightly grouchy and weathered old blacksmith was still out at town for business. Link scratched his head, and then turned when he heard the sounds of faint, somewhat shy tapping on the window again. His jaw dropped when he saw the princess standing outside his window, knocking on the windowpane sheepishly. "Zelda?"

Link unlocked the door to find Hyrule's princess waiting for him. She looked as radiant as ever, but there was a hint of weariness behind her eyes and she wore her tiara almost heavily like it weighed her down. "Hi Link," she smiled, but Link couldn't help but notice it was a cautious smile like she was afraid of saying the wrong thing, "it's been a while."

"No kidding. Come on in," he welcomed the princess inside. They made their way to the carpet next to Link's bed, and sat down on the floor just like old times. "I was wondering why I never saw you, but I figured you were really busy."

Zelda bit her lip. She could also sense that pause behind Link's words, an almost silent question on whether or not she was upset with him. They'd never really talked about how awkward it had become after what had happened at the Palace of Winds… "Yes, it's quite chaotic right now."

"Well, you're safe from the chaos here! At least, until Smith comes back to yell at me for being lazy." Link laughed nervously, "So, are you hungry? We can go to the orchard and pick apples, get in trouble like old times."

Zelda laughed, the tension slowly dissipating. She was grateful for Link steering the topic away from what was going on at the castle. He could have made any number of comments about Vaati, asked her what was happening at the castle, or talked about the multitude of problems she had to deal with, but he didn't. He never pressed and he never asked until Zelda indicated she wanted to talk about her problems, and it had been something she always loved about him. Where Impa and other people would usually ask her to elaborate on the things she was worried about, Link always listened. He was just… there. So that if she did need to talk to someone then she could count on him to listen. "Haha, yes! And if the Coopers catches us in their orchard then I'll use my authority as princess to get us out of trouble."

"Remember that time you did that and then Impa showed up and we _really_ got in trouble?"

"Uhm…"

They stood up from the floor, Link helping her up, and they walked out the door with fun-filled chuckles. It was almost like the awkwardness had never settled between them.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

About half an hour later, they were up on the lower branches of an apple tree, munching on their stolen snacks. They were swinging their legs in the air, reminiscing about the times that had passed. "I'm glad I was able to visit today. I'm sorry I didn't come down here more often," Zelda smiled, dropping an apple core onto the ground beneath her feet. As soon as it landed, some nearby ants began to investigate.

"And I'm glad you visited too!" Link exclaimed enthusiastically, "I'll always be here, waiting, so don't worry about not being able to sneak out of the castle more often. Impa would get mad at us less often anyway."

"Hahaha that's true," the princess laughed. "Oh Impa. We probably gave her a lot of gray hairs, getting into trouble all the time."

"Good thing her hair's pretty white to begin with, then."

They both giggled at the comment, laughing about all of the times they got in trouble with Zelda's careful guardian.

Zelda's eyes brightened as she turned to Link sitting next to her. "Remember that time when we went to the ranch and rode around on the horses-"

"And you were scaring everyone by trying to shoot things with your bow on horseback?" Link completed with a grin.

"I was pretty good at it!"

"I know," the boy laughed. "Oh and remember that time when we went to the lake and you accidentally dropped your tiara in the water?"

"Hahaha oh I remember that! You dove in to find it for me and then I accidentally fell in too! Impa was so upset about that, especially since I ended up meeting with an ambassador soaked like a mop."

They laughed some more at the memory, and they continued to chat about their little adventures as they picked some more apples from the branches above them. After a while, Link looked out at the neat line of apple trees with a small smile. "My favorite times were the charity masquerades, though."

"I would have hated them if it weren't for you. So many strangers I had to dance with, and I couldn't even tell who they were because of the masks on their faces," Zelda leaned back against the trunk of the tree with a small sigh. Then, she turned to Link with a grin. "But somehow you always managed to find me in the crowd."

"Haha, well, you always figured out which one I was, too."

"No offense, Link, but you don't exactly have that 'noble snootiness' that most of the guests at the party have."

Link smiled apologetically. "Haha, yeah. I'm no noble. The only reason I'm ever invited is because-"

"Because I invite you there, and I wouldn't have it any other way," Zelda replied earnestly. The charity masquerade was usually reserved for the noble families around the kingdom, but Link had always been a special guest. The purpose of the masquerade was to provide a social event for the nobles, as well as to gather money to buy food and other small commodities for the less fortunate subjects. She hated the general atmosphere of the dance with all of the nobles trying to garner her favor, but Link always managed to rescue her from the stress of it all. She thought about the masquerade this year, and it was coming up fast. The princess looked down at her feet when she thought about how different it might be this year. "If I invite you again this year, will you come?" she asked softly, hesitantly.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I?" Link asked in surprise.

"Because Vaati will be there." There was a pause from the both of them, and Zelda felt her heart sink even more when Link looked away at the mention of the sorcerer's name. Everything she had been stressing about for the past year bubbled up to the surface again, her smile and laughter from earlier vanishing completely. The princess gripped her dress tightly, the fabric bunching up together in her fists. "Link, everyone hates me now, and all I want is peace."

"Everyone doesn't hate you…" Link replied quietly.

"They think something is wrong with me! I don't know what to do," Zelda cried. She stared at the ring on her hand, and there was caution in her voice as though she were preparing for the worst. "Link, what do you think about me? Please, be honest."

Link hesitated. "I…"

"Do you think I'm crazy? Do you think I'm cursed?"

Link flinched a little at the princess's choice of words. They were the same words he'd accused her of back when he'd first found her at the Palace of Winds. He'd called her cursed when he couldn't believe she would defend the sorcerer who had kidnapped her. "I'm worried about you, Zelda. That's the truth," Link answered slowly. He found it difficult to keep looking at the princess, her face hidden by her bangs and her hands bunched into tight fists on her thighs. "The kingdom is afraid of you, and some of the names they call you…"

"Princess of Demons. I know. I've heard them myself when people think I'm out of earshot," Zelda murmured.

Link looked at the apple in his hands. Somehow, he didn't feel like eating it anymore and he let it fall down to the ground with a thud. He wasn't sure how he should bring up his next thoughts, but the princess wanted to know. She wasn't going to like what he had to say, but she wanted him to be honest. "Sometimes I think that this was Vaati's aim all along."

The princess finally looked up. "What do you mean?"

"When he kidnapped you so you could, you know," he grimaced, the words tasting foul in his mouth, "be his bride, his plan all along was to remove your power by making people lose trust in you. That's what I think," he finished guiltily.

Zelda stared at him with a pained look on her face. "How can you say that? That's not true."

"But how can we ever know? No one knows what he did to you at the Palace of Winds, and if he really did do anything to you then how would you know?"

After a while, Zelda looked down at her hands again. Her voice was barely above a whisper, but it still tried to hang on to a piece of stubborn conviction. "It's not true."

"I want to believe you. I really want to believe you, Zelda," Link almost reached out to touch her hand reassuringly, but for some reason he couldn't find it in him to do it. Whenever he saw that ring on Zelda's left hand, it reminded him how she had someone else now, and it hurt. "But it's really hard for me to believe Vaati."

Zelda looked to the clear blue skies, searching. She was so lost. "I don't know how to prove it to you," she finally answered, "I just want you to believe me."

* * *

><p>fleets: I got to introduce Elise! She's an OC, but she's based off of the White Maiden in FSA.<br>Also I figured I should explore Link and Zelda's relationship a bit more in this story since I just glanced over it in WIR. I almost wavered into falling with the ZeLink ship while I was writing this (even though I'm not a huge fan of that ship) because Link and Zelda in this story world can be really great for each other.

a;sldjkf I always hate the beginning of stories because I just want to get to the conflict already, but I suppose this is necessary. Thanks for reading everyone! :D

**Stalfos: **Aw thank you! I'll try to keep it interesting :D

**Flufux: **Hello again! Haha hmmm, I hope I can make it clear before the story is over (sometimes my titles are random and not well explained... lol). And yeah I can't wait either! Villains are my favorite characters to write, and I have fun plans for the villain of this story :)

**Twinbell101: **Hi and thank you! I'll try to keep it up!

**TheMultiColoredPencil: **HI AGAIN. WHOOO ALL CAPS DANCE PARTY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

**guest: **Unexpected is how I roll! Er... at least try to. And yup yup, Zelda is not having fun times. I hope you enjoyed this update :)

**Reily96: **Last story Vaati wasn't being grabby enough. Decided to fix that this story XD  
>I'm glad you like Maribel! If she ever met Poe though... Poe would probably hate her since she'd be a little too honest about some of the things Vaati says and does. They could be hate-besties :P<br>Thanks! I'm going to cross my fingers a whole lot that I don't make a mess of it later haha.

**Peregrine: **Hello and thank you for the review! I'm really thankful to have reviewers like you, and if I ever do write an original story you guys will be the first to know (at least I'll try to let you guys know hmm). Elise is a very religious person who, despite her best intentions, does nothing but stress Zelda out with problems...

**GamerxOtaku: **Hi there! Back for more I see XD I wanted to give a better insight on what it would be like in the day to day of Zelda, and it turned out to be pretty stressful when I started thinking about it. Poor girl.

**TriceratopsX: **Aw thank you so much! I will try my best :)

**salmaawesome: **Yup! I wasn't planning on it initially, but an idea struck me and I couldn't leave it alone so here we are!

**thebeautifulvaati**: Hi there! You're in luck because I just finished this chapter the day you sent the review :D And ahhh I'm blushing I don't know if I'm a writing god yet but I'll try my best to give you guys a good story (thank youuu)


	3. Foreign Affairs

CAN YOU TELL HOW excited I am to get on with the plot by the speed of my updates? :D  
>(now I'm going to go disappear into the void to catch up with all the work I procrastinated to get this done CYA)<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: Foreign Affairs<strong>

Sometime after Zelda said goodbye to Link, she was walking slowly back to the castle along a dirt path. She glanced back behind her from time to time, hoping to catch a cart travelling in the same direction. She probably could have summoned the Helmaroc King to fly her back, but after her talk with Elise today and also with Link, she didn't feel like it anymore. It would just be another reason for her people to fear her.

It wasn't like she was in a big hurry, anyway. She still had plenty of time before her next meeting with the ambassador of Labrynna. _Just one more meeting and the day would be over_, the princess thought to herself as she trudged along the dirt path.

"What a lovely catch!"

Without warning, an arm wrapped around her waist and Zelda was swept off her feet. She was thrown into the air by a powerful gust, and she gave a flat look at the snickering youth. "Vaati, what are you doing here?" she asked, noting the fact that they were now floating several feet above the ground.

The sorcerer grinned, still holding the princess in his arms and giving no indication that he was going to set her down. "I was just wondering what you were doing all the way out here, vising that hero," his grin momentarily turned to a bitter scowl at the mention of Link. "I see you weren't too busy to visit him, hmm?"

"You were spying on me," Zelda sighed, "again." This wasn't the first time something like this had happened with Vaati keeping tabs on what she was doing. She didn't mind too much, but it was sometimes disconcerting whenever he showed up when she least expected it. "You know I don't like it when you do that."

"I want to know why you weren't too busy to see Link but you're too busy to see me." Vaati was still grinning, but it was lopsided and kind of frightening. There was an undertone of "I don't like that either" that the princess didn't fail to catch. It didn't scare Zelda, however. She was used to all of this by now.

"Vaati, I get to see you every day. This past year I saw Link a total of four times," the princess explained patiently. She gave him a small smirk, "don't be so jealous."

That comment immediately caused the sorcerer's grin to vanish in a flash. "I'm not," he said stubbornly, while Zelda giggled at his reaction. Vaati grunted, "Didn't you have to meet an ambassador soon? I didn't hear about Link being in the schedule."

Zelda looked down at the ground several feet below them. Some terrified cows had run the other way from the small vortex whipping around them. "I do have a meeting with an ambassador so I should be on my way." She moved her hands to where Vaati still had his arms under her, and gave his fingers a small tap. If he let her go now she would drop several feet onto the ground, but the ground was where she needed to be. "If you can please let me down…" she trailed off.

"Well, it doesn't really sound like you want me to let you down," Vaati caught the lack of enthusiasm in Zelda's voice. He grinned when Zelda rolled her eyes – he was also used to that, too. She'd give a show of being annoyed, but there was a hint of a smirk just tugging along the corner of her lips even as she looked away. The sorcerer brought his face closer to the princess. "Perhaps I should rescue you like your beloved hero would have done?"

"Oh stop it Vaati it's not like that," Zelda crossed her arms irritably. "Now let me down."

"Or perhaps you'd prefer it if I kidnapped you instead?"

"I don't have time for this, Vaati," Zelda repeated sternly. Then, she looked towards the castle. When was the last time she'd actually set aside some time for herself? Maybe Vaati had a point. Maybe. "But there's not much I can do if I'm kidnapped, is there…" she trailed off.

The sorcerer chuckled, his visible eye glinting mischievously at her comment. "No, there isn't." With that, they took to the skies, the captor and his rather willing 'captive.'

XXXXXXXXXXX

Zelda recognized their destination as the Palace of Winds when Vaati set her down at the exact same spot he'd first taken her when she'd _actually_ been kidnapped a year ago. The Palace was just as beautiful as it had been when she'd first arrived here, and during the past year it had become almost a second home. It was her sanctuary from all of the stress and troubles she had to deal with on a daily basis back on the ground, but recently she hadn't been able to find the time to visit. After all, her guardian hated it whenever she left Hyrule in favor of the Palace, and Zelda had been mindful to keep her visits to a minimum to prevent her people from worrying about her too much. Now that she was back, however, she wished she'd come here more often. With nothing but the vast open skies surrounding her, she could just feel all of her worries floating away like the wispy clouds beneath her feet.

A small, impatient tug pulled her forward into the Palace interior as Vaati tried to lead her somewhere. When she tilted her head questioningly, the sorcerer answered, "You would do well to listen to your kidnapper, princess. I'm not known for my patience."

Zelda scoffed, "Charming. Is a girl supposed to fall for lines like that?"

"If you wanted to be charmed, then why didn't you say so?" Vaati gave her a wickedly sly smile. They stepped into the great hall, where they'd had their wedding ceremony. Well, it hadn't really been a real wedding ceremony and everyone had become distracted by a food fight… it was still a fun memory though. The long table was pushed to the side since hardly anyone ever used it anymore, and it was now mostly a large empty space with sunlight seeping into the room in long beams through the windows.

"You think I want to be charmed? By the sorcerer everyone hates?" the princess raised her eyebrow, but there was a bit of a playful challenge there as well. They were standing in the middle of the room now, just the two of them. They stood facing each other, and Vaati was holding both of her hands now.

"You tell me." He took a step closer, their noses almost touching.

"It would be so much easier to forget you."

"But you can't." He moved his finger over the ring on her left hand. Then, he placed her hand around his neck. "You won't." Zelda didn't take her eyes off of his face, as though waiting to see what he would do next. Her ears caught a soft tinkle, then, and it was coming from somewhere near the windows. Wind chimes rang in the air, and after a while she noticed that they weren't random sounds from the metal rods hitting each other as the wind blew, but had some kind of semblance of a song.

Zelda's façade of disinterest finally broke as she laughed lightly. "That's better than the piano." She relaxed, allowing Vaati's hand to slip around her waist, pulling her a little closer. "You've been practicing," she nodded towards the wind chimes that were playing a soothing tune.

"I'm a master of many things."

"Especially with the piano, I know."

"Ha." Vaati smiled. Their foreheads touched, and their breaths gently tickled their lips. They kept their gaze on each other, almost daring the other to give in, to break first. Then, Vaati decided it was a dare he was willing to break, and he leaned forward to-

"No." Zelda turned her cheek with a coy smile. "I don't think you've charmed this princess yet."

The sorcerer, who had momentarily been taken aback by her refusal, chuckled guilefully. "I think you're underestimating me a little, dear." Vaati pushed her forward, then, taking the lead in time to the wind chimes. They moved between the rays of sunlight in a slow dance, gracefully weaving in and out of the shadows.

It was an enchanting scene, to say the least, and as she followed Vaati's lead in their dance Zelda could almost feel like she could let him handle the burden of some of her worries. He could take her away from her troubles, just for a little while, to a place where she was free. All throughout her life she'd been the one leading, always standing strong so that her people wouldn't worry. Now there was someone who would let her rest. Here, while she was nestled in Vaati's arms, she could forget that no one accepted him, forget that people thought she was mentally ill. A year ago she would have never believed it if someone told her that the very sorcerer who had kidnapped her for malicious purposes would end up being someone who kept her together during times of stress.

The chimes tinkled softly. The sorcerer had placed her under a spell, but it wasn't what she would consider a curse. The people didn't understand how much she needed this wind mage to kidnap her, take her away from everything that worried her if only for an hour or two.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zelda hoped she hadn't taken too long when she returned to Hyrule. She'd parted with a reluctant Vaati who'd given her a small rant about how stupid he thought all of these ambassador meetings were, and she was now on her way to the throne room where she was supposed to meet her Labrynnian visitor.

"Zelda, we were looking all over for you! You are late!" Impa reprimanded as soon as she made it to the hall that led to the throne room. Zelda's guardian searched the princess's face questioningly when she noticed a lingering flush on the other girl's cheeks but the princess spoke nothing of it. Zelda gave a small bow of her head as she quickly followed the Sheikah warrior towards the doors.

"I'm sorry Impa." There was a deliberate omission on exactly where she'd been, and Impa didn't fail to catch it.

"You suddenly vanished without telling anyone where you were going, and you've kept your visitor waiting for nearly half an hour!"

"I will apologize to the ambassador," Zelda replied.

"If only it was the ambassador you'd kept waiting-" Impa began just as the princess pushed open the doors. Two men were standing in front of the throne, and they appeared to be in mid-discussion about whether or not they should leave. As soon as she saw them, Zelda froze, and her earlier confidence about giving a sufficient apology vanished. She recognized one of the men, and she almost wanted to walk backwards and shut the door again out of embarrassment and shame.

He was a tall man in his thirties, dressed in a blue and gold, richly embroidered tunic and a heavy navy cape draped over his shoulders. He wore his red hair long, tied back in a proper fashion, and although ginger men usually had the tendency to appear soft-spoken, there was nothing that gave such a suggestion from this man. His bold brows accentuated the green eyes that stared the princess down disapprovingly. A crown sat on his head.

Zelda almost stammered. Almost. "King Roland," she took a deep breath to calm herself from her initial shock of seeing the royal here, "I was told I would be meeting an ambassador, not that I would have a personal visit from the King of Labrynna."

Roland gave the princess a cold smile, clearly upset that she'd made him wait for half an hour. "Some plans were changed and I judged that it would be better to discuss my matters in person. I would have left, if I didn't think this was important enough."

"I am humbly sorry."

Roland waited a few seconds, as though he were waiting for the princess to explain herself. When he didn't get one, he brushed it aside with a wave of his hand and stepped out of the way to the throne. "No matter. If you will, princess."

Zelda walked to the throne slowly, but not showing any hesitation. She wondered what this was going to be about, and she had a bad feeling about what it was that Roland wanted to talk about. Hyrule and Labrynna had always been staunch allies, helping each other whenever they could. Labrynna looked up to Hyrule, and considered the kingdom as an ideal that all kingdoms should strive for, and Hyrule benefitted greatly from having close relations with a coastal kingdom. She and Roland had always respected each other and the way they ran their kingdoms, and they were friendly enough that they often called each other by name rather than referring to each other with titles. Today, however, she could sense that there was some distance between them. Zelda sat down heavily on the throne, but kept her back straight. She still represented Hyrule after all. "What is it that Labrynna wishes to discuss?"

"Hyrule has always been good to us," Roland began slowly, carefully choosing his words.

"And Labrynna to us," Zelda agreed.

Consciously or not, Labrynna's King began to pace in measured steps. Over the years, Zelda noticed it was something he did whenever he was about to corner someone with words, before going in for the attack. It certainly made him appear somewhat threatening whenever he started his pacing routine. No, Zelda didn't like where this was going at all. "For many years Hyrule has been the center of many of my people's faith. It is the land that was created by the goddesses, guided by Hylia, and protected by the one with Wisdom. You are truly a kingdom worth our respect."

"You are much too kind, Roland," Zelda smiled. Behind that smile, however, was a grimace. _I sense a "But" in there, Roland. _

Roland stopped his pacing briefly. "However, in recent days we've heard disconcerting news. The rumors tell me that you have welcomed monsters as your subjects, Zelda."

The King stared her down again, much like he had when she'd first arrived late. It was almost like being stared at by the Helmaroc King, leaving her wondering when she'd be mauled by one of his talons. Roland had always been a rather… intense… person, and she was glad she'd had some practicing in dealing with imposing characters before. Zelda sighed. She knew what Roland wanted her to say, it was what everyone wanted her to say, but she needed to say the truth. "Yes, that's correct," the princess replied.

Roland looked at her blankly as though wondering if he'd heard her correctly, and then he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I see. That puts us at a difficult position, then."

"The monsters are my problem, Roland, you do not need to be involved."

"Oh but it is my problem, Zelda." Roland looked up at the carvings of the three goddesses that hung behind Zelda's throne. Tired creases appeared along the edge of his eyes, and Zelda could tell that he, too, was also being forced to discuss such troublesome matters out of a sense of duty. "The followers of Hylia, Her Grace, are not so tolerant of monsters. The majority of my kingdom are followers of Her Grace, and as Hyrule is the chosen kingdom this is a rather… confusing arrangement for my people."

"Tolerance will lead to peace. My people and yours must see that in time," Zelda answered resolutely. "Our battles with the monsters have gone on long enough. For once we have a chance to have peaceful relations. Please," Zelda bowed her head, "help me Roland, you're not an unreasonable man."

"I'm afraid the matter of faith is not the only problem," Roland shook his head. "If it were only a matter of faith I would not be pressed to make demands of you. The fact of the matter is, Hyrule is now a threat to its neighboring kingdoms, Labrynna included."

This took Zelda by surprise, and the princess brought her head up in openmouthed surprise. She searched for words for a few seconds before she finally managed, "I-I don't understand what you're saying. Hyrule has always strived for peaceful relations. We do not wish ill on anyone!"

"By forging an alliance with the monsters, Hyrule has suddenly become the uncontested, most powerful military power in the entire region." The king stood determinedly behind his words. "Should you ever be forced your hand to use force on another kingdom then there is nothing they could do to defend themselves." Then, he added more gently, "All I am asking is for you to break this abominable relationship you have created with the monsters. They must be destroyed. I have to look out for my own people, and this is the reason why I've come here today."

"I would never use force on any kingdom and you _know that_ Roland!" Zelda stood up from her throne.

Roland smiled back. It was a sad smile, one that she saw from time to time in her own mirror. "Ah, but we both know that we're not the ones who are truly ruling, don't we? We care so much about our kingdom that we're at the mercy of our own subjects. We never did rule with an iron fist."

Zelda looked down, finding herself unable to meet his gaze. It was the truth; she was the princess of Hyrule but her actions were more often than not dictated by the needs of her kingdom. It was the same for Roland, and was the reason he was having this difficult conversation with her now.

"One day they may force you to go to war."

"Roland I…" Zelda gritted her teeth, "I cannot do what you ask me. The monsters are my subjects as much as the Hylians are."

"I see," the king turned away with a heavy look in his eyes, "then I hope you understand that I must cease our trade relations and other friendly negotiations. Although we will not trespass onto your land, we will be hunting down the monsters, your 'people,' in our own borders so it will be too strange to maintain these relations."

"But that will cripple us both," Zelda gasped.

"This is how serious Labrynna believes your threat is." Roland still refused to look at her.

"We're friends, Roland. Please reconsider," Zelda nearly begged. "Your request is too much to ask of me, but we aren't enemies."

On his way out of the door, Roland turned around one last time with that same, sad smile on his face. It told Zelda that he wished it didn't have to be this way. "What is friendship to figureheads like us who are at the mercy of our people, princess?"

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><p>fleets: I clearly didn't say what happened after Vaati danced with Zelda. Let your imaginations run wild wahahahaaa<br>Ehrm, but yeah it's been a year since WIR so Vaati and Zelda have mellowed a bit (see? I can write happy things)  
>Also Roland! As you might be starting to see, there will be a bunch of OCs in this story similar to how it was in Avilux. I'll consider this story a success if I can gut anyone in the feels with them hahaha<p>

**121FantasyLife: **Thanks! I figured the story would lack a huge piece without Link in it, especially with how WIR ended. Ah yes, conflict. My favorite thing :D these past few chapters have all been the buildup to it and I can't wait until I can just blow it all up in everyone's faces (shot)

**thebeautifulvaati: **Aaaaah thank you so much! Your messages give me boosts of happiness :D I'll definitely keep updating, because I'm excited about writing this too!

**eureka93: **Haha you predicted it, Vaati did not like that visit nope! XD She made it up to him though (or else he would have thrown a tantrum like a baby)

**Dia Newman: **Was that quick enough? :P (and ahhhh that's really nice for a writer to hear, so thank you! though i'm sorry I made you cry)


	4. Forget-Me-Nots and Violets

fleets: Considering how the title of this chapter is the title of the story, I was super duper impatient to get to this chapter. Lucky for you guys, that means you get fast updates! Don't expect it to keep going at this pace though... because I'm not sure how I've managed it thus far D:

Also I've completely given up trying to write sexy Vaati so I've fully embraced the superdork from WIR. Yeah.

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Forget-Me-Nots and Violets<strong>

While Zelda was meeting with Roland, Vaati was waiting outside, sitting on one of the slanted rooftops of the castle towers. He was bored, and seeing Zelda take care of all the responsibilities of a ruler made him even more bored about the prospect of ruling things. With a small huff, he kicked a small chipped piece of the blue shingles off the roof.

What was it about suddenly having something you were wishing for that made it so unappealing? He'd had so many plans for after he'd managed to take over Hyrule, and have people bowing at him everywhere he went. He'd imagined complete and utter freedom to do whatever he wanted, and… well…

Vaati stared at the sky. Okay, so he hadn't really thought that far in terms of specific things he was going to do after he took over Hyrule. He kind of figured it would be fantastic, and that it would be amazing and awesome and he'd be in want of nothing else. Maybe he would have made the people build a gigantic statue of him in the middle of town so they'd have to be reminded of his presence every single day. He'd brought it up to Zelda jokingly (at the same time kind of seriously) one day and instead of refuting it outright she'd brought up all of these _boring_ details that they'd have to consider to actually manage something like that. She'd gone on and on and ON about the people they'd hire, how they'd compensate them, where to contract materials, calculate a budget, and a hundred other things that he'd stopped paying attention to.

So it had been about a year since he'd stuck around with the princess and he'd had no inclination to actually rule. He let Zelda handle it, and although he was slightly disappointed, he was fine with just being a visible presence by her side. Actually he got a kick every now and then whenever he made people uncomfortable by abusing his position as someone very close to the princess.

A year had gone by so fast. They'd hardly noticed the time passing, since both of them had been so busy after his return. Zelda had sent him running around the region on errands while she tried to keep her kingdom together. Most of his work had involved seeing what the monsters were up to, but honestly it wasn't the monsters who were the root of all of Zelda's problems. They ran themselves like they always had, and most of the higher tier boss monsters like the one horned dragon, Aquamentus, had bullied the lower tier monsters to build them worthy shrines (or dungeons, as an alternative term more familiar to the Hylians) to replace the ones that Link had damaged. The most excitement he'd had was when a bunch of idiots had decided to hunt down Gleeok and he'd shown up with the Helmaroc King to ruin their little pitchfork-swinging entertainment. After Zelda had heard about what he'd done she'd been annoyingly upset, and after a long fight he'd ended up agreeing that he'll never do something like that again without telling her what he was going to do.

But wow, he was so bored now. He squinted at the clock that was past the castle gates in the surrounding castle town below, and frowned. It was almost forty five minutes now, since Zelda had gone to meet with the ambassador, and he had the urge to just go and break some windows to interrupt them. Besides, she seemed to dread having the meeting anyway, so wouldn't he be doing her a favor?

It was then he noticed a voice calling out at him from down below, and from the way it was going hoarse the person must have been yelling at him for quite some time now.

"-eason why the princess is having so many problems is all your fault, and now Labrynna is going to forsake us too!"

Vaati arched an eyebrow and he leaned forward, peering down at the ground below him. There was a girl dressed completely in white, shaking her fists angrily while she held out the small chip of rooftop tiling that he'd kicked away earlier, and the sorcerer guessed it had somehow managed to hit her. He grinned at that thought, but then scowled at the noise she was making. He took a better look at her to make sure he would have nothing to do with her ever again, and then he realized that he'd seen the girl around the castle a few times before. It was that priestess who'd been bothering Zelda about religion and monsters and whatnot… what was her name again? Elise? What was she doing at the castle again? Didn't she meet with Zelda already earlier?

"One day we will banish you from this world and rid the evil you brought with you, you vile sorcerer!"

Vaati stared at Elise from his perch up on the roof. He watched the pitiful thing, waving her hands helplessly from below as though she could hope to make a difference against someone powerful like him. "Are you done now?" he asked, when Elise took a brief pause in her rant.

He almost laughed when the priestess nearly tripped over herself in fright at the sound of his voice, and she took a few steps back as though she were worried he'd cast some nasty spell on her. "N-no," she stammered, but stood her ground bravely, "I won't be done until you go back to the sword from whence you came."

Oh, this was just gold. He was too amused by this ignoramus for him to be angry with any of her words, and suddenly the day was less boring after all. "I didn't _come_ from the sword you stupid girl," he rolled his eyes. He tilted his head slightly, and he grinned like a snake who'd cornered a rat. With a small gust of wind, he vanished from his perch, and suddenly appeared behind Elise, causing her to actually fall on the ground this time. Chuckling nastily, he asked, "Isn't it rude to yell at the king like that?"

"Y-you're no king!" Elise finally managed after she scrambled back onto her feet. Her white dress was a clumsy mess of grass and dirt from her fall. "Zelda isn't in a normal state of mind right now. When she wakes you will be banished," the priestess declared.

Vaati took an intimidating step forward, the wind swirling around his ankles and whipping past the girl. "Mhmm, do you know what happens to people who are rude to their king?" he continued, completely disregarding her claims. He edged closer, his eyes narrowed and his grin toothy and threatening. Elise backed away nervously, and her face was contorted into a disgusted grimace as though a giant spider had cornered her. Vaati surveyed her, walking around her in a slow circle, and then without warning he spread out his arms.

He didn't even cast a spell, but it was enough to send the poor priestess running for her life. Vaati held his sides, laughing at the scene, and he completely lost it when Maribel the poe unluckily floated by, right in front of Elise, making her shriek even more. The confused poe scratched its head, wondering what had just happened, and then gave a quick salute when it noticed Vaati still trying to stop laughing a few feet away.

"I'm here to give a report, Lord Vaati," Maribel announced, her lantern giving a jangle as it swayed. The ghost waited patiently as Vaati caught his breath. When he waved his hand in between holding his sides, the poe continued, "Manhandla is wondering if it is allowed eat trespassers in the swamp. There have been several people who have approached it but only took some water samples and left it alone. The wizzrobes are still asking for assistance in hunting down a renegade who refused to follow their Guild Laws."

Still wheezing slightly from the laughing fit he'd had earlier from seeing Elise running away like a cucco with its head cut off, Vaati answered lazily "Tell them all to stop bothering me with their own problems." Finally breathing normally again, he straightened out his cape which had become a little wrinkled, and he floated back up to his perch on the roof. Just as he reached the top, he heard the main doors to the palace swing open, and Zelda walked out, escorting a red haired noble outside. The sorcerer noticed a crown on the noble's head, and he wondered briefly if that was the "ambassador" that the princess had talked about; the man looked a lot more high-status than a mere ambassador, and that crown suggested he might even be royalty. Who was that man?

Before Vaati could do anything rash, Zelda noticed Maribel still floating in the middle of the path. The royal hesitated in revulsion at the appearance of the ghost, while Zelda appeared panicked and quickly shooed an uneager Maribel away. The poe disappeared into the castle walls unhappily, and Zelda had the job of trying to explain to the visitor why there was a poe floating around Hyrule Castle while the sun was still up.

Given the situation, Vaati judged that it probably wasn't the best time for the princess to have him show up right after the poe, further disturbing the royal, and so he waited for them to leave the castle grounds. After several minutes, Zelda walked back, alone this time having waved the man goodbye. She looked slightly pale, and her steps were small and uncertain as she made her way back to the castle. With a glower, Vaati swooped down from the sky and landed in front of the princess, putting an arm around her somewhat possessively as he stared at the empty spot where the royal had left. "If he said something that upset you…" Vaati began threateningly.

Zelda, who had at first been stiff in surprise at the sorcerer's sudden appearance, relaxed and shook her head and laughed sadly. "It's okay. I'll be fine." She looked up and noticed that he was still glaring at the gates, and she gave him a light tap on the arm. "You are _not_ to threaten Roland. He's the king of Labrynna and we're on good terms." _Or was, to put it accurately,_ she thought to herself, but decided against letting Vaati know that.

"King?" Vaati blinked. _It wasn't an ambassador?_ Then, he growled, "I don't care who he is," Vaati swung her around so that they were facing each other, "You're obviously upset. If he thinks he can get away with pushing you around-"

"Shhh," Zelda put a finger up to his lips, shushing him. "I'm not going to be pushed around so easily. Don't you know that by now?" she added with a tiny smile. While Vaati quieted, he still didn't look convinced that she was fine. Behind that smile he'd seen a hint of weary exhaustion.

He decided not to push it, however. Zelda had one of those looks that clearly said 'No' to whatever misfortune he planned to inflict on Roland. Instead, he changed the topic. "So I saw that White priestess, Elise I think?"

Zelda groaned when she saw that amused grin on Vaati's face, and she began to walk back towards the castle with her arm in his. "Please don't tell me you did anything horrendous to her."

"She ran off screaming right before you showed up."

"Vaati," Zelda began sternly, but there was a faint giggle in her voice that was hard to hide. She felt mean for laughing, especially since Elise wasn't a bad person, but she could just imagine how the encounter had gone.

"I wish you could have seen it."

They laughed about it as they made their way back, and Zelda's tired expression eventually lifted by the time they were at the castle doors. Vaati pulled her aside right before they were about to enter the castle. In a slightly pushy, demanding way, he grabbed her wrist and made her look at him. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

Zelda squinted, suspicious of what the sorcerer had in mind. "Well," she bit her lip, "I have to meet with Impa for training, then I have to discuss some matters about organizing the upcoming charity masquerade, and then I have to meet Maribel for –"

Vaati cut her off. "Cancel all of your plans."

Zelda raised her brows incredulously. "What?"

"You're going to cancel your plans," Vaati declared, "because you're coming with me tomorrow."

Zelda gave a tired smile in return, and she turned her head towards the castle town. "I can't just drop my responsibilities like that."

"Oh? You can't?" Vaati leaned forward, "Then let me tell you what I see." He turned his back to her, waving his arms out towards the castle, snapping his cape behind him. "I see someone who holds great power in her kingdom, but is locked away in a prison she built for herself."

"Power doesn't necessarily equate to freedom, Vaati," Zelda looked down at her feet.

Vaati huffed. "And why not?" He watched the princess shuffling her feet on the ground for a few seconds, and just as she was about to answer he cut her off. "You're going to break," he held up his hand, quieting her, "if you keep going like this." He frowned, "You were more alive when I kept you at the Palace of Winds."

Zelda laughed weakly. The so-called evil sorcerer was being so sweet about everything in his own slanted way. He worried over her more than he said he did; she would have hugged him if she weren't so tired. "Thank you for looking out for me," she said appreciatively, "but as long as I am standing I must follow my duties."

Vaati scowled, dissatisfied by her answer and somewhat embarrassed by her sincere gratitude. "That's not all I have to say." He stomped over angrily and put his hand on her chin, making her surprised blue eyes look up at him. "I've been surprisingly patient with you this past year because you've been busy, but my patience is running thin. I never once bothered you whenever you had your _meetings, _but tomorrow I'm going to take you away for an entire day, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Zelda blinked. He was looking at her with a serious expression on his face, and it wasn't until then that she realized that maybe she'd put their relationship in a forgotten little corner. Despite the fact that she got to see him every day, she couldn't really remember the last time they'd actually done something fun together. And had she really been balancing her life so horribly that she'd actually looked better during the time she'd been kidnapped? Maybe it was true… she did feel pretty awful lately; always stressed and worrying about something. She chuckled again, shaking her head. "Anyone other than you saying that, I would make them cry you know," she said with a playful grin. "Alright, just this once. Where am I being stolen away to this time?"

Vaati snorted, and then he looked back brightly. "Hmph. Have you ever been to Holodrum?"

The princess gasped. "I've never been but you can't mean-"

The sorcerer chuckled. "I haven't been there either. It would be a perfect opportunity to gloat over how much better Hyrule is than their inferior kingdom."

"We're not going to taunt Holodrum and they're not inferior to us," Zelda crossed her arms.

"But you have to admit we're the best," Vaati shrugged.

Zelda shook her head exasperatedly. Then she turned back with a smile. "I guess I'll… go and cancel my plans for tomorrow then." And as soon as she said those words, she felt a burden lift off of her shoulders. For the first time in a long while, she was excited about the coming day.

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It was the morning of the following day. It was supposed to be a day of excitement, of fun, and of escaping the prison of responsibility. They were supposed to go to Holodrum, a kingdom neither of them had ever been to, and they would have been able to quietly enjoy each other's company in a new land far away from Hyrule.

Instead, it had been the day where the mystery began, and the shadows of conspiracy and ill plotting followed.

Because instead of finding Zelda up and awake, sitting by the edge of the windowsill of her chambers for him to take away, Vaati found her on the floor, collapsed next to a broken vase and a puddle of water around her. The sorcerer froze at the sight, not sure of what to make of it. He'd been expecting those pretty eyes to brighten up at his arrival, but instead they were gently shut and unconscious. She lay on the floor, breathing slowly as though she were sleeping, and her pink dress fanned out around her. Bits of porcelain were scattered around her strawberry hair, along with some violets that she'd kept in the now broken vase. Violets had been one of Zelda's favorite flowers, and she often spoke bashfully that it represented the kind of delicate love that she'd dreamed to have one day.

Vaati swept over to where she was with the suddenness of a powerful gust, and he cradled her head in his arms. He didn't know what to do. He didn't even know what had happened, except that the princess was collapsed onto the floor and apparently unconscious. "Zelda! Can you hear me_?_!"

Vaati visibly relaxed in relief when the princess groaned at the sound of his voice. Stalks of dainty baby blue forget-me-nots fell from her fingers, the flowers dropping onto the floor as she brought her fingers up to her forehead. "Unghhh," she murmured, and then she squeezed her eyes shut, and curled over from a headache that shot through her skull.

"Tell me what happened," Vaati resisted the temptation to shake her awake, to demand her to tell him what had happened. As much as he wanted to do those things, this was one of those times that speaking loudly and demanding things were not going to help. He couldn't believe how helpless he was; he rarely knew how to make things better, and he really only knew how to break things.

"I don't…" Zelda said groggily, and she tried to push herself up. Her arms buckled under her and Vaati had to catch her as she fell back down.

"Don't move. You're not well."

"What happened…?" Zelda asked. She tried to sit up again, and she finally opened her eyes but they still looked like they were trying to find focus. Her hands touched Vaati's, and then she flinched abruptly. Her head snapped towards the surprised Vaati and she shrunk back away from him. "I sense dark magic from you," she rasped.

Vaati's hands fell against his sides and he stared blankly at the princess who was looking at him with an expression of fright. The nature of her accusation was confusing, and a sinking feeling gripped the sorcerer's gut. She was awake and conscious, but things were far from okay. "I thought you were used to that by now?" he asked slowly.

Who was this person?

The girl's physical appearance was exactly the same as Zelda, but even so Vaati wasn't sure he could recognize her. This girl who pushed herself away, crawling back away from him like he was a snake, was not the princess he knew. Her eyes were cold and closed him off from the warmth of her soul – it was the look she reserved for people she didn't trust. Her eyes wandered around the room, asking a hundred silent questions, and then they finally locked on to his.

He wasn't sure he'd heard her clearly the first time.

At the same time, he didn't know if he could stand hearing the same words again. This couldn't be happening.

"Who are you?" Zelda whispered.

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><p>fleets: And so it begins for real!<br>I'm not sure if it's more appropriate to label this story Adventure/Romance or Mystery/Romance...? I have no idea. Maribel mentions the Manhandla and a certain renegade wizzrobe, two characters I've kind of rambled about in my deviantart account, and yeah it should be fun writing them. And Elise... argh all I can do is shakehead-headdesk-facewall at poor Elise.  
>I am so excited to get this story going now that it's actually started I don't know if my little heart can take it<p>

**Dia Newman: **Hahaaaa if only it worked that way x_x People are stupid snobs sometimes, I completely agree, and it makes me sad... good plot fodder though hehe

**Reily96: **Elise is... ugh don't get me started on Elise. She's the embodiment of all the well-meaning, good people, whose existence are nonetheless like nails on a chalkboard. I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry or just shake my head and feel sorry for myself whenever I write her. Surprisingly Roland hasn't been (according to Zelda wiki) a character name that has been used in the series (unless he's like a super duper random character that even the wiki page failed to find). I based his name off of the Borderlands 2 soldier guy (gosh I love that game)

**eureka93: **I'm not really sure... most of them I come up with when I'm taking a shower, or in weird hours at night... hardly ever when i'm actually working on the story itself though haha. Yup, I do not envy Zelda right now, nope

**Twinbell101: **Thanks! I'm really excited about writing this story :)

**LovelyKiridia: **Ahh thank you! Actually the basis of this story was when I was thinking about all of the problems Vaati and Zelda would have if they actually ended up together, so it was only natural to write about it :D I'm glad the OCs are good so far, and I'll keep working on the fluff! (I admit I'm still trying to figure out fluff myself since I'm _so easily embarrassed)_

**thebeautifulvaati: **One thing after the other, and it's not going to end anytime soon! I take my role as Vaati-torturer seriously XD

**salmaawesome: **Glad you liked it! There's a reason why I included it, which hopefully I'll reveal soon ;)

**CutieCat: **Ahhh thank you for the review! I'm still trying to figure out the level of fluff, since I get embarrassed super easily, and I'm still trying to figure out what Vaati and Zelda's take would be, so I'm glad you think it's realistic so far! Still trying to find that line of "realistic" and seeing how far I can push the level of fluff. It's tricky for me :O Thank you again for the review! It's comments like yours that let me gauge how I'm doing and what kind of tone I should take for the next chapter :D

**Sweetest Chick: **Thank you! The tone of this story is going to be different from WIR, but I hope I can deliver! :)

**Flufux: **They're very unpopular, unfortunately. Princess life is hard! Well... only if you actually care about your people. Vaati's approach would probably be pretty simple, but would involve a lot of unhappy people lol

**Hawkmask: **Hi again! Haha that's alright! I'm happy that I even get reviewers as is, and I'm always pleasantly surprised when people message me :)  
>People are just... stupid. That's all I can say. This story is about the stupidity of people -_-<br>OMG that's true! I probably should have titled WIR that, since it was all about trusting. Trust is a big thing for me in relationships, so it probably bled through a lot in the stories (to be honest I don't really like WIR's title all that much, but it was hard to change after I started it with a one shot... If I do change it, that title would totally fit!)  
>I was actually really surprised by the reception of the piano scene! It was just a small random piece I threw in, and I initially didn't think it was as great a scene as some of the other scenes I'd been excited to write about until I saw the reviews for it.<p>

**hilzel: **Heyo! I still love your messages regardless ;) hahaha I thought you'd like poes, and Maribel since I based her off of the poe sisters in Ocarina of Time. The Zelda universe needs more sassy ghostly monsters. She's going to play a decent role in this story, so you'll see more of her.


	5. The Year that Never Was

fleets: I know I updated less than a week ago but I just had to write this. Apparently I can't handle cliffhangers in my own stories myself... ha.

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: The Year that Never Was<strong>

"Who are you?"

Three words were never more devastating than the ones uttered by Princess Zelda, shrunk back against the wall and looking at him in bewilderment and fear. She looked back at him like he didn't belong here; she didn't understand why there was suddenly a stranger with dark magic in her own chambers, or why she had been lying on the floor with a broken vase next to her.

Vaati tried to find words to say, but he didn't know what to say. _Who are you?_ The words rang in his head, and he tried to find comfort in the fact that this was probably just a temporary thing, that she'd hit her head and was suffering from a brief amnesia. That kind of thing happened to people all the time, didn't it? A good whack over the head would make anyone confused, and that vase must have fallen on her when she'd tried to arrange some flowers. Or something.

She needed a doctor to look at her, and then everything was going to be okay. "You're hurt," he said as gently as he could. She was like a bird that would fly away at any moment in fright, and he needed to handle this carefully. He needed to be understanding, he needed to be patient – none of these were his strong suit but by Farore he needed to be all of these right now or he'll make the situation worse. In fact he could almost feel his usual anger bubbling up his chest, anger at the situation and anger that things weren't going his way, but he suppressed it as much as he could. He reached out to help her up, but the princess only recoiled.

"_Who are you?_" Zelda asked sharply, her voice rising slightly.

Vaati grimaced at her tone, and as much as he wanted to shout that this was ridiculous, he refrained from it and pulled back his hand, kneeling on the floor a few feet away. "I'm Vaati-" he started, and then stopped when a flicker of recognition passed across the princess's face. He was almost hopeful that perhaps she'd remembered something about him, but the hope was quickly replaced by dread when recognition transformed into something unpleasant. Zelda's cheeks paled, and then her eyes steeled.

"The Sorcerer of Winds," she finished for him quietly. Her fingertips crackled with light magic, and she had the ferocity of a cornered animal facing down its pursuer for one last stand.

She recognized him, but why was she looking at him like that? It was just like before she'd… ever known him. It was just like when he'd first found her at the Four Sword Sanctuary, threatening to steal her away to the Palace of Winds and to take Hyrule as his. He was her enemy. There was movement, and Vaati noticed that the princess had quickly pushed herself up and ran towards her desk, grabbing some kind of blue stone. It glowed in her palm, and she whirled around, keeping her eyes on Vaati with nervous tension as though she expected him to attack her for doing something suspicious. "Impa!" She called, and the stone glowed in her hand again.

Vaati, who had still been sitting blankly on the floor, stirred at the name of the Sheikah guardian. He made a movement as to go towards her, and then stopped when she raised her hands, the magic crackling in her palms. "I'm not going to hurt you," he tried to explain, and he regretted the way it came out in an impatient tone.

At the same time, something must have gotten through to the princess, because she appeared somewhat surprised by his words and lowered her hands an inch or two. Perhaps she'd caught some hint of his sincerity. She was still on guard, her back pressed against the wall and staring down at him defiantly, but a short flash of confusion shot across her face. She squinted at the sorcerer who was still sitting across from her, looking annoyed, confused, and… maybe even in shock? By the time Impa dashed into the room and stood between the princess and the sorcerer defensively, Zelda had situated herself near the door, still aiming her light magic towards Vaati but no longer as threatened as before. She stood up, backing away slowly towards the exit, all the while keeping her eyes on Vaati who was still staring at her like she wasn't actually real.

"If you are truly sincere about your claims, sorcerer," Zelda said quietly, her words carrying a faint tremor, "then you will allow Impa to detain you in our dungeons until we determine that you are speaking the truth."

"Princess, what is going on?" Impa asked sharply.

"I am giving you a chance," Zelda continued, her voice was shaking now as though it was only through great effort that she was managing to speak, "If you are not an enemy to Hyrule, then you will go with Impa."

"I…" Vaati's voice became quiet. He gritted his teeth, and he opened his mouth to defend himself, but he couldn't find the words to say. There was nothing he _could_ say. He glanced at Impa, almost wondering if the Sheikah guardian would say something to get Zelda to understand that he wasn't a threat. However, Impa only surveyed the room with a cold, calculating eye, not saying a single word as she, too, tried to piece together the situation. Eventually she turned to him expressionlessly, waiting for him to make the first move.

"I…" the sorcerer looked down as his hands. He couldn't look at the princess anymore. He got up on his feet laboriously, and pretended not to see the way Zelda took another step behind Impa. The princess was standing in front of him, but he'd lost her all the same. "Alright." He walked towards Impa, who gave him a single nod as he walked past them.

"Hold out your hands."

Vaati stopped in his tracks when Zelda stopped him. She was looking at him with trepidation, worrying that he would change his mind. The sorcerer sighed, and wordlessly held out his hands. The princess ran her hands a few inches above them, and white runes glowed, locking the sorcerer's hands together. Hand cuffs.

"Impa," Zelda averted her gaze from Vaati. "Please call Link when you return. I must speak with him."

Impa nodded again, and then ushered Vaati to keep walking. Vaati didn't appear to see Zelda's guardian telling him to move, and he was staring at the princess again, dazed. Anger flashed across his face at the mention of Link, his scowl contorting into a grimace, which eventually turned into an ugly expression that was a turmoil of emotions. Without another word, he turned his heel sharply, and proceeded to walk down to the dungeons with Impa following closely behind him.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

When Link was summoned to the castle by Impa, he immediately knew something was wrong. The people at the castle all looked at him gravely, expectantly, and no one would explain anything to him except that he should go see the princess. When he did finally meet the princess sitting outside on the edge of a fountain, she was looking down at her hands in fearful confusion. The last time he'd seen her looking so lost was when her father passed away years and years ago, when she'd learned that in the next morning she would be the one ruling the kingdom.

She wanted him to explain things. She was looking for answers. As puzzled as Link was at first, he gradually began to piece together that the princess had no memory of anything that had happened after she'd been kidnapped at the Four Sword Sanctuary a year ago. As Link explained to the best of his abilities the events that had been going on during the past year, Zelda sat quietly, looking down at the grass and listening to everything he had to say in a daze. For her sake, Link omitted the part about the nicknames she had gained and the controversy about the alliance with the monsters, and also the part where the two of them had grown further apart because of what had happened at the final confrontation between him and Vaati.

"A whole year…" Zelda murmured after Link was done. She tilted her head up towards the sky wonderingly. "The last thing I remember is when I was at the Four Sword Sanctuary. You were there with me. I remember feeling my heart racing in my chest when we made our way to the temple, and I would have been too scared to go if you hadn't accompanied me." The princess clenched her hands, closing her eyes as she recalled her last memory. "The dark magic was so powerful, it made me nauseous the closer I walked towards the seal."

"And… you really don't remember anything after that?" Link asked.

The princess shook her head, and then leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands. She continued to stare at the grass heavily while Link sat quietly next to her, and then she buried her face in her hands tiredly. "The next thing I know, that dark presence is near me. I'm in my chambers, and he's with me as well. Vaati was in my room, and I don't…" she trailed off, her voice somewhat muffled in her palms. "Link! Have I really allowed such evil to reside within my kingdom?" She looked up abruptly, imploring Link to tell her the truth but at the same time dreading his answer.

Link hesitated under her gaze. There were many things he'd thought about the situation with Vaati over the past year, which he never thought was appropriate to bring up with the princess. He never understood why she suddenly seemed to favor the sorcerer even after all of the terrible things he'd done, like kidnap her, but over the past year he hadn't said anything about it. She'd never asked for his opinion, and his real opinion would have only upset her, so he'd never said anything. A rift had been created between them when he'd struck Vaati down at the Palace of Winds, a rift that was irreparable, and after that incident he didn't want to make the chasm between them worse.

The subject that the princess wanted to talk to him about was something he'd shelved in the back of his mind as a topic he would never talk about, so it made him uncertain now that Zelda wanted to know what he thought. "You weren't… okay," he said slowly, wincing slightly at his choice of words. Who was he to say that she'd been unstable? Then again, it was the only explanation he'd had to justify why the princess never told him that she was okay when she'd been kidnapped by Vaati. When he'd come to rescue her, she'd told him she never needed to be rescued… and that hurt. Why couldn't she have let him know? "We think Vaati must have cursed you, and tricked you into making him think he was an ally for the past year." A bitterness rose to his mouth as he thought about how happy she'd looked around the sorcerer this past year. She'd looked lively and bright, hardly like someone who was 'cursed.' Zelda's words at the Palace of Winds, "_Why couldn't you trust me?_" echoed in his head accusingly and he bit his lip in shame. The boy turned away and absentmindedly scuffed the dirt with his boots.

"I see…" Zelda hung her head. She noticed Link was also looking disturbed, playing with his hands emptily. "Link, what's wrong?"

For a moment it appeared as though Link would say something, to explain what it was that he was thinking. However, he didn't know where to start and he couldn't figure out how to put into words everything he was thinking, so he settled with a weak smile. "It's nothing."

Zelda sighed, and they lapsed into a brief pause again, their thoughts weighing them down. Eventually, the princess began to talk again, as though talking about it would shed light on the complicated events. "I just don't understand the way he looked at me, Link. Those eyes, he looked at me like," she cringed, thinking back on what had happened about an hour ago, "like my very presence hurt him. He was angry. It made me uneasy."

It made her more than uneasy. She could still see those red eyes, almost with a haunted expression that what she was saying couldn't possibly be real. She didn't understand why the infamous wind mage would look at her like that. If it hadn't been for that expression of incomprehension, of someone who'd been ruthlessly betrayed, she wouldn't have given Vaati a chance. She wouldn't have even risked keeping him in the dungeons, which she was aware he could escape if he so wished, if it hadn't been for the way he'd looked at her. How long he would remain there would be telling of how serious he was about not wanting to hurt her or Hyrule, and although the pragmatic part of her knew how risky this was, there was another part of her that couldn't believe that the emotion she'd seen on the sorcerer's face was something that could be faked.

"Zelda, he kidnapped you and tried to send Hyrule into darkness," Link reminded.

"I know. I'm just so conflicted, like I'm making a mistake," Zelda gave a small, worried laugh. Trying her best to cheer up despite the situation, she looked up with a smile and put her hand on his. "I'm just glad you're here, Link. I know that you'll always point me in the right direction whenever I'm lost."

Surprised, Link didn't know what to say. Instead, he nodded and returned a troubled smile of his own.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Two days had passed since Vaati had found Zelda lying on the floor. Two days, since he'd had to wonder if this wasn't all just some cruel joke. The chain that rattled around his wrist, keeping him bound to the cold stone wall of the dungeon reminded him every hour that the princess had really forgotten about him.

_Despite her promises,_ he thought as he remembered how she'd told him that she would never forget him.

He could easily escape the dungeons with his magic, but he continued to wait, hoping that the memory loss was temporary and that she was going to come around. He was still somewhat numb to what had happened two days ago, and it seemed that his heart couldn't pick an emotion. Anger, frustration, shock, sadness; everything was muddled together and he didn't really know how he felt anymore. All he could do was continue to wait, staring at the ceiling as he lay on the blankets they'd left for him.

The only thing that kept him together, really, was the fact that it was Zelda's wish for him to remain in the dungeon until they sorted things out. In any other situation he would have blown the place sky high and let his wrath rain down on everyone who dared to get in his way, but he didn't because Zelda didn't want him to. The fact that, despite her memory loss, she'd given him a chance to show her that he didn't to be sealed in the Four Sword was the tiniest sliver of hope that maybe she'd come around.

Ha. Who was he kidding. Everything was lost so he might as well just go on a rampage, right?

"You've waited long enough, sorcerer. I have a few things I would inform you."

Vaati shot up from where he lay, and he whirled around to see Impa standing against the wall across from his cell. She blended in with the shadows, and the sorcerer was caught off guard by how she had snuck into the dungeon without him noticing.

"The princess doesn't remember anything that happened over the past year," Impa said, once she had Vaati's full attention.

The sorcerer scowled. "It took you two days to figure that out?" He didn't need anyone telling him what he already knew.

"The matter does not appear to be temporary," Zelda's guardian clarified. She let the words sink in, and for once the arrogant sorcerer appeared to lose his confidence, his shoulders slumped and defeated. It was only a brief period of time, however, because Impa's next words made him look up in fury. "The popular opinion is that you had cursed her a year ago, tricking her into forging an alliance with yourself and the monsters. When the curse broke, she lost her memories until the time you were first released."

Anger rose in the wind mage's voice again, and his eyes narrowed at the Sheikah who stood stoically by the wall. "I didn't curse her. I have no motivation to do that," he hissed.

"The motivation was increased freedom and access to the ruling class of Hyrule."

There was a crash as Vaati threw his hand to the side, the chain hitting the wall with a loud rattle. He strode towards Impa and gripped the bars of his cell until his knuckles were white. "I don't need petty curses to gain what I want! I would have overrun Hyrule with force if I wanted to!"

"That is not all," Impa continued coolly, unperturbed by Vaati's outburst. "Yesterday marks the first day when the plague struck. They are already saying it is your doing. You did it for revenge, perhaps?" She was observing him carefully, reading his reactions. Her piercing eyes never once left the sorcerer's face.

Vaati faltered. "What…?"

"The plague has only affected Hylians with mixed blood; those without pointed ears. It is spreading quickly as we speak," Impa explained. "All those affected fall to a deep sleep that they cannot wake from."

A plague. A plague? First Zelda loses her memories, and now they're blaming him for a mysterious plague?

"I have nothing to do with this!" Vaati roared. The corner of his lips twitched, and his fingers were shaking.

Impa barely batted an eye, and she spent a few more seconds observing the furious wind mage in his cell. She seemed to be thinking of something as she leaned against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest. Only her eyes moved.

Just before Vaati exploded in anger and did something rash, Impa came to a conclusion and gave him a single nod. "You are either a very good actor, or you speak the truth. A good actor, however, does not let his emotions get the best of him. He is cold, and calculating, in times of stress. You, sorcerer, are not," she observed.

"If it weren't for Zelda's wishes I would have escaped this place long ago and burned it all to ashes," Vaati seethed. Dark shadows were pooling around his hands, and he was considering transforming into his Wrath form to destroy things out of anger. However, Impa finally stepped away from the wall and took a few steps until she was standing right in front of Vaati. She eyed him disapprovingly, but a curious glint flickered across her face.

"Stay calm, sorcerer," she began in a hushed voice, "If you would listen, I might risk parting some information to you which I have not shared with anyone else. What you choose to do with it is for you to decide."

Vaati's snarl vanished, and the dark magic around his hands slipped away into the air. He searched Impa's face, wondering what she meant. He and Impa had never really been on the same side, so to speak, and over the past year they had clashed almost daily regarding his relationship with the young princess. Impa was someone he thought would love nothing more than to sabotage him whenever possible, so the approach she was taking now, almost as though she wanted to help him, was… unsettling. He released his hold on the bars of his prison cell, and circled around to the center, giving them both some space. Still, there was a cautious, mistrusting edge to his demeanor. "Tell me," he demanded.

* * *

><p>fleets: As much as this is a VaaZel story, it's probably going to sneak into ZeLink territory occasionally. Surprisingly, I wasn't as apathetic to ZeLink as I initially thought, because the more I write about them the more I can see how they'd be good for each other, yeah? She didn't think about Link in that way anymore after their disagreement at the Palace and she started to like Vaati, but now that she'd completely forgotten about all that... -_-<br>Hmmm not much else to say. What does Impa know that no one else does?

Thank you everyone for your support :D

**Flufux: **Mystery villain! Who could it possibly be? :D  
>I love this part of the writing process when I'm building up to the big reveal of the villain. Villains are my favorite to read about and write about :)<p>

**Ki**: Hello there, and thank you so much! And wow haha that's a lot of reading! I'm glad you liked my stories :D Ahhhh thank you for liking my Vaati characterization; that gives me a lot of relief and joy to hear as a fanfic author!  
>Aw dang I've kind of neglected my animation projects huh? I'm almost done with the OA fight scene, too... I should pick that up again at some point. I'll consider Rend, too, once I finish that one! No problem :) Always a pleasure to increase the Vaati fanbase :D<p>

**Lord Siravant: **Who oh who could it possibly be? :D There's going to be a bunch of characters in this story, so there's going to be a bunch of potential suspects hehehe

**Reily96: **It is my duty as author to enforce the no-fun-allowed rule. PFFFF I NEED TO STUDY TOO going to do just that after i post this asdl;kfjal;skdfj.

**eureka93: **I had to go look that FF reference and wow their story is pretty depressing... I guess this one kind of is, too. (nods) Yes, blame Elise. She is such an easy target muahaha  
>The whole kingdom might be out to get you, but we have Impa to the rescue! (?) maybe. well she still hates him...<p>

**thebeautifulvaati: **Nope, it's not Thistle this time! Thistle doesn't turn renegade until the events of Rend, and this comes before that (assuming the stories actually follow each other...). This is a different wizzrobe, one I mentioned in a doodle sketch I did, and we'll get to see him soon ;)

**LovelyKiridia: **Ahhh thank you! Haha yeah I like to think Vaati is actually super childish, since he seemed like he just hit puberty during MC and then he was sealed away immediately after so he didn't really have an opportunity to grow out of his immaturity. It makes him dangerous, too, since he's like a reckless child who actually has the ability to do serious damage. Yesss you got the approach I was going for in this story! Everyone certainly suspects him, including Zelda herself. He's in for a rough time...

**MasterShortPantsx3: **And now everyone's blaming Vaati for the plague on top of it all. He's in a huge mess right now; I don't envy him, nope. Thank you for your kind message! :)

**Dia Newman: **Elise is just... I hate to say it but she's going to be annoying for more chapters to come -_-

**GamerxOtaku: **Haha no problem, I've been updating pretty quickly too, and I have no idea how. I'm probably going to get the backlash soon when I find out about all the work I should have been doing... urgh. Yup, Zelda forgot everything important :( Now to find out how and why :O


	6. Set Loose the Storm

fleets: I COULDN'T HANDLE THE CLIFFIE AUGH. Erm, so yeah I decided to update at this ungodly hour instead. -_-;;

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: Set Loose the Storm<strong>

It was impossible to tell what the Sheikah guardian was thinking as she considered the sorcerer in his cell. After a few seconds, she pushed herself off of the wall, walking away from the shadows for the first time since she'd let her presence known to Vaati. She cautiously approached the bars of his cell, and spoke softly. "Before I tell you what I know, I have a question to ask," she began. "What did you first see when you entered Zelda's chambers two days ago?"

Vaati frowned at her question, and disappointment and irritation flashed across his face when she didn't immediately tell him about the information she'd promised him. He wondered what this had to do with anything, but decided to play along with it for now. "She was… lying on the floor. There was some water around her from the vase that had fallen on her head. I went over to make sure she was okay and-"

Impa raised a hand, interrupting him abruptly. "Stop. Go back to the part where you found her. What did you see? Tell me, with the most specific details you can recall, especially about the princess."

"I don't understand." Vaati growled, his fingers twitching. When Impa looked back stonily, he sighed and complied reluctantly. "Fine," he threw his hand absentmindedly in exasperation, the chains around his wrists clanging loudly against the stone floor, "She was lying there. Her left hands were holding onto those blue flowers, I think," he said slowly, trying to recall everything he'd seen when he'd first found Zelda on the floor. It was hard to remember clearly, especially since his thoughts had been addled by confusion and shock at the time, and it still made him uncomfortable to recall that ordeal. "Her hair and shoulders were wet from the vase that had fallen on her head, and… there were pieces of porcelain and violets in her hair." Just like a doll that had fallen off the nightstand, he thought. He stopped when he noticed Impa had once again put up a hand to stop him. "If you already know what you want to say I don't understand why I have to play detective with you," he snapped, just about running out of whatever little patience he had.

"No, I wasn't sure, which is why I needed to ask you." Impa lowered her chin, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the floor thoughtfully. It looked like she was trying to solve some kind of difficult problem. She eventually noticed Vaati looking like he was going to break something. "Now that I know, I want to clarify: are you sure that the vase actually fell on her head?"

"Isn't it obvious_?_!" Vaati seethed.

"Is it?" Impa's words stopped Vaati for an instant. It was just two simple words, but they had the weight of heavy steel that instantly chilled the room. Vaati's expression froze, and then confusion bloomed on his face, and he quickly fell quiet. Impa huffed, and then began to explain, bit by bit. "Pieces from the cracked vase were found in her hair. The vase had been sitting on top of a shelf slightly higher up from the princess's head," she put her right hand just above her head, indicating roughly the height where the shelf was in Zelda's room, "From the height of the vase to her head, there shouldn't be enough distance to cause significant damage that would lead to something like memory loss. But that's not all," she paused, and gave a slow nod to Vaati whose eyes were swimming around the room as her words began to have some meaning in what they meant, "if the vase really did fall on her head, there shouldn't be any pieces of it scattered in her hair. It might fall around her, but not on her."

Vaati finally looked up, and took a small step back towards the bars of his cell. He didn't understand what Impa was getting at. Or rather, he suspected what she was getting at, but he needed to hear her say it. There was a dangerous edge in his voice when he asked, "What are you saying…?"

Impa shrugged nonchalantly. "So far, nothing. I would have been suspicious, but it wouldn't have been enough for me to tell you anything. However, I also found this." She uncrossed her arms, and revealed a small envelope she'd been holding all this time. When she opened it, she took out a piece of burnt paper that was preserved between to sheets of thin glass. Vaati took it tentatively when she passed it between the bars. "Do you recognize this?" she asked.

Vaati peered through the glass at the paper trapped between it. Most of it had burnt away, and whatever was left was about the size of his palm. Faint lines of ink were barely legible on the paper, but enough was left for him to make out the message. "What do these flowers smell like?" Vaati read aloud, "signed… Vaati?"

_What?_

He stared at the parchment for several long seconds, reading and rereading to make sure he'd read it right. Still, no matter how many times he passed over those words, it undeniably had his name on it. He turned to Impa for some kind of explanation. "No, I never wrote anything like this." It wasn't often that he resorted to cheesy displays of affection where he'd send flowers with little notes, so he was sure he'd know if he'd sent something like this. Images of the blue flowers in Zelda's hand came to mind, and he began to understand that she must have received them from someone that morning.

"I found it in the coals," Impa said, and from the way she said it, it was apparent that her suspicions had been confirmed. "Someone had been in a hurry to burn this, but in their haste to leave, they never bothered to check if it had been destroyed properly. My guess is that an unexpected visitor had startled them, making them panic," she let the words sink in. "Whoever did this wanted to make it look like an accident. The vase never fell on her head; they broke the vase later and scattered some pieces in her hair in a crude attempt to make it look like the cause of her fainting."

The vase that had fallen. The inexplicable broken pieces of porcelain in her hair. The piece of paper addressed from him that he'd never written. The forget-me-nots. _What do these smell like?_

"They were there. They were there before me," Vaati breathed. His fingers clenched the glass with the parchment paper inside. If he'd been there just a few minutes earlier, if he'd kept a sentry to watch over her that night…

"The paper had landed in the cooler part of the coals and I found it before it disappeared."

"This means someone-" Vaati looked up abruptly, finally finding some focus after the overwhelming information he'd just heard.

Impa nodded. "You could say someone really wanted Zelda to lose her memories. Specifically of you." Impa watched the sorcerer who was absolutely livid now. "Didn't you find it curious that Zelda's memory ends at the time you kidnapped her? It could be a coincidence, but it's unlikely. For her to have her last memory as the time you did something horrible to her, it's a perfect set up for you to lose her favor. It would only fuel the rumors that were circulating about the curse you put on her."

"They set me up," Vaati snarled, and his palms smashed against the bars of his cell angrily. Fury had replaced his earlier shock, and he wanted to destroy something. Someone. They were going to pay. For someone to have the gall to do something like this, to fight him so indirectly like a coward, he harbored even more hate for them than to all of the heroes of the past who fought him straight on. Instead of stealing his princess away by defeating him in battle, they had taken her away from him by attacking _her_. "How did they do it? You must know something. Tell me!" he demanded.

"Take this." Impa handed him a tiny bottle. Inside it was a small stalk of tiny blue flowers, the same ones that he'd seen with Zelda when he'd found her lying on the floor. Vaati turned it over in his hand while the Sheikah explained, "It's one of the flowers she was holding in her hand, ironically it was a forget-me-not. Whoever did this had some ill sense of humor."

Recalling the message, one thing came to the sorcerer's mind on what the flower really entailed. "Poison?"

Impa nodded in confirmation. "I know a few things about poison, given my work as a Sheikah. This one is familiar to me – it's a type of poison that, paired with a charm, can selectively erase memories. You can cause targets to lose memories of the past few minutes, or as in this case, an entire year."

"What's the cure?"

Behind the glower of fury there was a brief glimmer of hope behind Vaati's eyes. If there was a cure, then they could resolve this quickly, and Zelda might remember him again before the day was over. His hopeful expression dissolved, however, when he saw Impa shaking her head. "I'm afraid that's where I can no longer help you, sorcerer," she said, and Vaati was again hit with heavy disappointment, "I know more than the average man about poisons, but I am no expert. Although I might be able to devise a cure, I will not risk giving the princess incorrect treatment and have her condition worsen." Impa smiled bitterly, "It's not in my line of work to undo the effects of poison I inflict on Hyrule's enemies."

"It's better than nothing!" Vaati spat, resentful of the Sheikah again.

"I cannot give her the cure, sorcerer. Neither will I go and seek one." Impa remained resolute behind her words.

"You…" Vaati hissed. He was considering threatening to take her life if she didn't at least try to devise a cure. Magic crackled where his chains bound him, and in an instant they broke with a loud snap. The chains dropped to the ground with a thud, and Vaati stared down the Sheikah menacingly.

Impa, however, didn't show fear even if she were nervous. She took a few steps towards the stairs leading out of the dungeon, but she stood her ground admirably. "I told you earlier that what you choose to do with this information is for you to decide. To be quite honest, I am not in the least worried about the fact that you may have been framed. It might even do this kingdom good if we went back to calling you an enemy."

"Then why bother telling me at all?" Vaati glared.

"Why indeed?" Impa wondered, and for the first time there was a faint hint of sympathy. "Perhaps I, too, seek the truth. Someone attacked the princess, and it is my job to track them down. Neither I nor the princess will gain anything by finding the truth, while you," she nodded her head towards the sorcerer, "You gain everything. You're desperate for the truth. You are better suited and better motivated for the task than I."

"So you're just using me," Vaati said bluntly. He eyed her for a few more seconds, wondering if his anger should still be directed at her, and then he visibly relaxed. He released his hold on the bars of his cell, and he brushed aside his hair away from his face. "Ha," he laughed, "For a minute I was disturbed by your eagerness to help."

He walked back to the walls of his cell and leaned against the stone casually. There was still a heavy tension around the sorcerer, like a snake just ready to strike at the tiniest movement, but he seemed to have reached the conclusion that Impa wasn't an enemy for the time being. For the first time since the two of them met, they had come to some sort of mutual understanding that they weren't on opposing sides.

"As much as I disagree with your presence in Hyrule," Impa moved towards the stairs, indicating that she was done with the discussion. "I hope you have some success in finding answers, sorcerer. In light of this incident and the plague, my suspicions run high and I'm worried for the princess."

Vaati sneered. "I'll find whoever did this, and they will regret it." There was no uncertainty behind his words. He knew how this was going to end. There was no other ending he would accept aside from finding the perpetrator and showing them pain worse than death.

Impa took a final, curious glance at the sorcerer in the cell. As much as she despised him, his confidence in finding the truth was refreshing. "I suggest you start with finding someone knowledgeable in poisons. They may help you find a cure," she advised, and then added enigmatically, "Leave quickly if you plan to find the truth. Your success depends on it." Before Vaati could ask what she meant by that, Impa vanished without another word.

Minutes after she'd left, the dungeon cell became empty, with no trace of the sorcerer who'd been there save for the broken chain that had once been around Vaati's wrist. The storm had been subdued by the princess, but now that Impa had given it direction, it was going to rain down its wrath on the one foolish enough to anger it.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Who am I?_

Zelda had been sitting at the edge of her bed, looking at the mirror on the other side of the room. The question had been lingering in her mind since Link had told her everything that had happened this past year. She didn't recognize anything Link said as something she would do; why had she ever thought that letting monsters freely roam the kingdom was a good idea? From what Link had said, it sounded like she'd even communicated with the great dungeon keepers, the boss monsters. When she'd tried to find some kind of reason that would justify her actions, when she'd searched Link's face for anything encouraging, she'd found nothing but uncomfortable fidgeting and sideways glances. Link, too, hadn't been able to understand her newfound relations with the monsters.

Zelda sighed. Everything was falling apart all around her, and she felt completely helpless. While she was still trying to piece together her past year, she had to figure out what to do with the wind mage in the castle dungeons and also deal with the plague that was spreading across her kingdom. The plague had already incapacitated dozens, no hundreds, of businesses and services, and hundreds of people were now trapped in a wakeless sleep. A good percentage of the kingdom's best healers had succumbed to the plague as well, and the ones left still hadn't been able to find a cure to wake those affected. The ones who had collapsed had been moved to empty classrooms in the kingdom's largest school as a temporary measure, but eventually she knew that they would be forced to trap them in stasis crystals to keep them from dying until they found a true cure.

She played with a beautiful silver ring in her hands, and the diamond glittered brightly as she turned it over absentmindedly. She'd been wearing it on her left hand, on her ring finger, and she was sure it wasn't something she'd had before a year ago. It had confused her, when she'd first found it: did it mean that she'd promised herself to someone this past year? She didn't think that she would wear such a ring on her ring finger on a whim, since whenever she did wear rings she often wore them on her right hand. However, no one would tell her that she'd ever married someone in the past year, and no one ever stepped forward, claiming himself to be her suitor. She placed the ring back in her nightstand drawer; it didn't feel right to wear something like it when she didn't know what was going on, or the story behind it.

Everyone else she'd spoken with had all said the same thing: it had been a curse. That she hadn't been herself this past year, and that Vaati had manipulated her to lead the country under his wishes.

Maybe she would have believed it if she hadn't seen the way the sorcerer had looked at her when she asked him who he was. She'd almost felt guilty when she demanded that he wait in the dungeons until this was all sorted – he'd accepted his fate so willingly, and the look of betrayal on his face… that wasn't an emotion that had been faked. He'd truly believed that she'd let him down, but she couldn't begin to fathom why.

She'd also been surprised by what the infamous Wind Mage actually looked like. All of the stories spoke of a fearsome one-eyed demon who could flatten villages with a swoop of his pitch black wings. Instead, he'd ended up being a somewhat short, almost frail-looking fellow with a youthful and sly gleam in his eye. Proud and arrogant, perhaps, but not exactly what she would call outright evil. Maybe amoral, but from her brief interaction with him she had the sense that she could at least get him to listen, and that was a start.

_Maybe I'll visit him this afternoon,_ Zelda thought as she clenched the bed sheets tightly. For the past two days, he'd waited in the dungeons patiently without incident. If he truly did have ill intentions, she would have expected him to have left by now – the old legends always painted him as an impatient demon who didn't hesitate to do the most horrid things in order to get his way. The fact that he was still there, waiting, must mean that there was another side to this mystery that she didn't know about yet? She needed to hear his side of the story… maybe then she could be enlightened as to what had really happened.

He might manipulate her, he might attack her, he might even curse her again, but somehow a part of her thought that she could risk talking to him. Not even the best actor could sound as sincere as he did when he'd told her that he wasn't going to hurt her. It was the least she could do…

"I'll…" Zelda gulped, and then shook her head vehemently, trying to will away her nerves, "I'll go see him today!" she said aloud as a promise to herself. She stared blankly at the reflection of the nervous, addled girl in the mirror. Then, she sighed and put her face in her hands. In all honesty she was in no condition to face a potentially dangerous individual. "No, I can't put this off! I have to go today," she muttered into her hands. "I wish someone would tell me everything is going to be okay…"

Suddenly, Zelda noticed a faint glow from the corner of her room. She whirled around and came face to face with a ghostly creature with its face covered by a grey cowl. Maribel floated over, her lantern swaying and casting tall shadows as she approached. "Everything is goi- EEK!"

Zelda had been quick on her feet, and just as the poe said something she'd blasted a powerful shot of magic towards the monster. Crouched on the floor now, Zelda prepared another blast at the monster that had intruded her room unannounced.

"_I apologize my Lady!"_ Maribel shrieked as she flew back into the wall, her screams fading rapidly away.

The princess remained tense for a few more seconds, and then after a while she realized what had happened. Her head tilted in confusion, she stared at the wall where the poe had run off to, the blue glow of the lantern still lingering. She'd been shocked that a monster would be wandering so freely in Hyrule that they were now floating around Hyrule castle itself that her first instinct had been to attack it. It was only after she replayed the scene slowly in her head that it occurred to her that the poe had been trying to tell her something. More importantly, it had actually apologized to her as it flew away. "Wait, come back!" she called, "What did you want to tell me? Poe, come back!"

"Is everything all right?"

Zelda turned around and saw that Impa had walked into her room. The princess's shoulders slouched disappointedly. "Yes. I was… I was startled by a poe in my room."

"Vaati's spies," Impa sniffed, "I don't think they intend to hurt you, but they serve as his eyes and ears."

"I see…" Zelda said quietly. She could tell that Impa didn't like poes very much from the way she spoke about them; she could imagine how something unpredictable that could move through walls would frustrate a diligent guardian like Impa. Had that poe been spying on her? But then why did it apologize like that? "Impa I decided," Zelda brushed away the wrinkles in her dress, and straightened her shoulders, "I'm going to see Vaati this afternoon. I'd like to hear what he has to say about my memory loss. I want answers."

"I wanted to speak with you on that matter as well," Impa agreed, and the way she said it made Zelda nervous. Impa's ears always twitched a certain way whenever she had bad news to tell her, and over the years Zelda had become very good at catching it. Impa also noticed Zelda's fingers had curled into fists, and that she was already looking at her knees in dread. The Sheikah guardian sighed and spoke as gently as she could. "Vaati is no longer in his dungeon cell. A guard notified me only minutes ago."

A knot formed in Zelda's stomach, and she looked up slowly in shock. Vaati… gone? "But," she said hoarsely, "but that changes everything."

"I'll organize a group to find him right away."

"No, you don't understand. I…" she trailed off and bit down on her lip.

_I believed in him._

She'd been proved a fool to have given such a dangerous person a chance to escape. Had she been tricked by that look of sincerity? She'd truly believed that he might prove to her that he intended no harm on Hyrule by staying in the dungeons until she decided he wasn't a threat. It had only been two days, and already he'd fled. One night, and a few hours later he was gone. The one person who could give her the other perspective on her missing memory was now gone. And now there was a very powerful, infamous wind mage running around her kingdom doing who knows what. And it was all her fault.

"It's not your fault, princess," Impa reassured, "and we'll find him."

Something was off about the way Impa spoke her last words, and Zelda didn't fail to catch it. She searched her guardian's face, and she frowned. "Impa, there's something else you're not telling me, isn't there?"

The Sheikah gave a small smile. "You have a keen perception, princess. I didn't want to bring up more unpleasant news until you were in a better state of mind, but I suppose I don't have a choice now."

"I can handle it," Zelda replied firmly, but a part of her wavered. She wasn't at all sure if she could handle it, considering all of the confusing surprises that had been thrown at her the past few days. She'd also just learned that she potentially released a highly dangerous person, and she was still shaken with the weight of the responsibility of what she'd done. What had she been thinking?_!_ _I can't believe I trusted him._

"It's about the plague," Impa sat down next to her on the bed, "I have a message from Labrynna. They indicate they have a cure."

"That's wonderful news!" Zelda cried, but then she shrunk back when she remembered this was supposed to be bad news. Putting on a brave face, Zelda asked Impa to go on. "It's conditional, isn't it?"

Impa nodded slowly. "King Roland says he would like to speak with you again. Labrynna offers a cure, but… you should talk to him, princess."

Impa's earlier comment clicked, and Zelda could guess what this was going to be about. "It has to do with Vaati, doesn't it." Her question came as a statement. She already knew the answer.

Impa returned a tired smile. "We'll find him," she repeated.

* * *

><p>fleets: ahhh this was so fun to write. So? Do you think Impa's a 'good guy?' 'bad guy?' What's her motive, huh? :P Is she sending Vaati on a false trail, or is she being truthful? She clearly wanted him gone quickly (ending up with Zelda to having doubts, unfortunately) - intentional or accidental? So many possibilities :D<br>ALSO I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT - some of you were wondering who that renegade wizzrobe was that was mentioned by Maribel the last chapter, and I'm going to say this right now: no, he's not Thistle. As much as I love Thistle, he's had his time to shine in Rend and OA. Also he was officially labeled as renegade in Rend, and considering this story came before Rend he would not be labeled as one at this time (yes, he did appear in WIR, but he was still a law-abiding guild member).  
>That leaves us with the only possible conclusion that it's a different wizzrobe entirely. You'll meet him, don't worry ;) and I intend to avoid similarities between him and Thistle, because it would be boring if I just retold the RendOA story again, wouldn't it?

**Dia Newman: **Elise is shocked that you wish so much harm on her and she is now convinced that a demon has influenced your soul. XD

**GamerxOtaku: **We're not done quite yet with the drama train. I hope I can surprise readers a few times over the course of this story hehe :)

**Spartan Yoshi 90: **Eek thank you! We're not quite out of intenseville yet!

**Reily96: **Haha yeah, well I had an issue with Zelink because... well I guess it always kind of bored me? Like, "hey, hero meets princess. Bam. Fate." I know it CAN be interesting, but it just never appealed to me... Feel free to guess away ;) I used to be totally crazy about people guessing the plot, but I'm pretty confident I can continue to surprise readers for this story even if they do manage to catch on.

**Lord Siravant: **I totally cannot wait to get to DesPonte. I have a thing for quirky characters like him :D  
>I knew from the start that Elise wasn't going to be popular, and I have a feeling it's going to get worse when she shows up even more in the story. Religious zealots are always, erm, tricky I suppose, especially when they try to shove their beliefs down everyone's throats...<p>

**Patchworkcrows: **I'M SORRY PLEASE TREAT YOURSELF TO WARM COCOA AND uh... yeah that totally doesn't help does it  
>It's not a tragedy though, so I promise it won't be <em>too<em> terribly painful. Um. Well we might have to endure a few soul-cuts along the way but uhhh they say no rainbows unless you have rain amirite?_!_ illshutupnow  
>Hahahaha I can totally see him doing that, that big baby nerd XD<p>

**thebeautifulvaati: **Impa gave him some hints, but did they help or hurt? We'll find out I guess!

**MasterShortPantsx3: **I kind of feel bad for giving people updates at really bad hours, like 1 in the morning. But my fingers are already typing and I can't stop them. They're unstoppable! The premise is pretty sad I suppose... if only he knew that we were all rooting for him!

**Ki: **Haha thanks, I'm glad you like the story! The sad thing is, Link couldn't have told her because he can't believe that she actually does/did care about Vaati (a case of being in denial...). Impa's definitely going to play a role in this story, yup! What role, though, is up in the air at this point ;)

**Flufux: **And although she knows he's telling the truth, we don't know for sure if she's really on his side or not with what happened in this chapter... ;)

**SweetestChick: **And another fast update! I'm not sure how I'm doing it, I haven't updated this fast since Beyond Centuries... o_o  
>Suspcions suspicions! Who could have possibly done it? :D<p>

**LovelyKiridia: **You got it right! It looks like someone knocked Zelda out (poison!) and broke the vase to make it look like an accident. Unfortunately no one would really believe that since the easier explanation is that Vaati had cursed Zelda for a year and she fell unconscious when the curse broke. Vaati needed to make more friends over the past year because now he's really alone :O  
>Ohhh yes he's angry. One furious sorcerer is running around Hyrule right now!<p>

**eureka93: **Yup, it's super easy to blame Vaati now, unfortunately. And of course Link won't tell her because he's still in denial about what happened at the Palace of Winds ("there's no way she could like him...?"). Yeah...  
>What oh what is Impa up to? XD<p>

**LoZMadLover: **I COULDN'T HANDLE THE CLIFFIE EITHER. So here's an update haha.  
>And I hope I have more questions for you guys to think about before this is over :D<br>Ahhh thank you! I'm so happy to hear you like it so far, and thank you for being such a loyal reader! I'm truly blessed :D

**Hawkmask: **Nope, Roland isn't Ganondorf! He's the ancestor to Ralf and Queen Ambi from Oracle of Ages, which is why he has red hair (nintendo really seems to love red headed characters...) He's a Labrynna royal ;)  
>Ohhhh and no that wasn't a Thistle reference! He's a different wizzrobe, and he'll play a decent role in this story so you can be that I didn't just mention that on a whim ;)<br>This story probably has the most complicated character relations I've ever written in any of my stories to date! It's been a lot of fun these past 6 chapters so far :D

**salmaawesome: **Yep :( Too bad he doesn't know he has fans rooting for him, huh?


	7. On the Move

fleets: The super-crazy updating is still happening I guess. This chapter is a little shorter though, unfortunately! I did write more, but it didn't flow that well so I decided to stop it where I did.

Also some of you were wondering last chapter why Link wouldn't tell Zelda the other half of the story where she actually liked Vaati. I tried to explain it vaguely in the prior chapters and also at the end of WIR, but the reason is that he doesn't actually _believe_ that half of the story, see. There's still a part of him that thinks that it was all some kind of mistake, that she doesn't actually like him, that she really _was_ tricked into liking him. The accident was a perfect opportunity for him to really reinforce the fact that yeah, it was a mistake that she used to like Vaati, so he gave her that side of the story instead :/

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: On the Move<strong>

Once Vaati had warped outside, he flew up to the rooftops of the castle towers. He moved quickly and with a purpose as he clutched the glass bottle tightly. He took his free hand to his lips and gave a single, sharp whistle, and then dark clouds surrounded him as he transformed into the demon eye. Today he didn't care about appearances or frightening the people below; he wanted them to see exactly what they were messing with.

Sharp winds whipped after him as the huge eye shot across the sky, and just as Vaati made it over the southern gates, another enormous shadow joined him. It was a large, helmed bird with maroon feathers, with a wingspan that could cover several houses in length. The Helmaroc King glanced his way questioningly.

"_Come with me."_ Vaati ordered, and he led the boss monster towards the mountains, away from curious ears.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The Helmaroc King perched wordlessly on top of a boulder while Vaati recounted what had been going on in Hyrule the past few days. He wasn't really sure why the sorcerer had summoned him on top of a mountain to tell him about Zelda's memory loss and the plague, so he just sat patiently and listened. From the sound of it, it seemed that an enemy had removed Zelda's memory of Vaati and had turned everyone in Hyrule against him.

Hah, well, that wasn't really news, was it? The Helmaroc King didn't see anything unusual about being enemies to Hyrule. In fact, he could have said that he'd seen this coming, in a way: monsters and Hylians were never meant to get along. "Ah, so we're allowed to hunt those pitiful Hylians now, Lord Vaati? I suppose that's why you called me." The great bird stretched his wings.

"No."

Helmaroc folded his wings back against his sides, and returned a quizzical look.

"I called you so you know what kind of fool we're going to go after," Vaati replied. The wind mage was sitting on a different rock a few feet away. It was actually close to the spot where he'd decimated the lizalfos a year ago, and the forest far below the mountain was still full of young trees that had sprouted from the ashes. "Zelda's accident, that wasn't an accident."

"It certainly doesn't sound like it," the Helmaroc King agreed.

"And neither is the plague."

"What makes you say that?" the bird asked, even though he himself knew the answer. The Helmaroc King preened his feathers feigning disinterest, but his eyes glanced back towards the sorcerer from time to time, betraying his curiosity.

"It's too convenient, that's why," Vaati mused, a small smile on his face. However, there was a dangerous edge to his voice that indicated he was a hair's breadth away from exploding in violent anger. "Immediately afterwards they are all blaming me for placing a curse on the princess. Everyone is certain that my arcane knowledge was to blame for convincing Zelda to allow monsters to roam freely in Hyrule. And then the plague hits," Vaati snorted bitterly, "Perfect timing, wouldn't you agree?"

"Indeed a perfect way to frame you," Helmaroc nodded.

Vaati fell to brooding silence, and the great bird couldn't help but notice. This wasn't just about Vaati going to hunt down an idiot who picked the wrong fight. That wasn't why the sorcerer had summoned him. "Something else is bothering you."

Vaati laughed in short, harsh chuckles. That smile was still on his face, but it was demented. Broken. The sorcerer finally turned to look at the Helmaroc King, laughing as he did so. If the stoic bird was actually concerned about him, then he must have looked incredibly pitiful. He always did kind of hate how perceptive the Helmaroc King was – it had actually been part of the reason for their conflict last year – but at the same time it was what made the monster an interesting ally. He chuckled to himself some more while the Helmaroc King waited patiently for the sorcerer to explain, and then eventually his laughter died down, almost abruptly, into a deadly calm. There was a memory that haunted Vaati. He couldn't get rid of it, much as he tried. He could still see her face; her blue eyes filled with terror and disgust…

_I sense dark magic from you__._

Vaati sighed heavily. Disgust. Disgust! Of all the emotions he had to endure from her, it had been that one. Hate… hate he could deal with. Hate was simply a different kind of passion, and one that he was well acquainted with. But disgust? She'd looked upon him like an insect that she couldn't dare look at. Once upon a time that same face had looked at him with warmth and joy. They'd laughed together and shared memories together, and even in the most difficult times she'd led him to believe that they could conquer it together. He couldn't face that expression of disgust again.

_Who are you?_

Her voice had wavered slightly, betraying her fear. She'd been afraid. Afraid of _him_. The voice held back and demanded he keep his distance. Her heart was closed and guarded.

"She didn't know who I was, Helmaroc," Vaati mumbled softly. "She didn't recognize me."

_I will never forget you._

"She doesn't remember me."

The words fell heavily out of his mouth, each one carrying a greater weight than the last. It was the first time he'd said it aloud to someone, and now that it was out of his mouth the reality was overwhelming. He didn't want to believe that all the times they had spent together, learning about each other, was gone.

Everything. Gone.

Despite the promises of never forgetting, Princess Zelda had lost her memories of the time she'd spent with him at the Palace of Winds.

The Helmaroc King ruffled his feathers, an equivalent of a shrug. He didn't really understand why the Lord was so distraught over this development; then again, he didn't really understand why the creatures of Light placed so much importance on relationships and feelings. The sly glint of a hunter gleamed in his eye as he looked towards the sky in the direction of Hyrule castle. Even if he didn't understand anything about feelings, he could make sure to keep Lord Vaati on the honorable path of reclaiming his respect. Vengeance. "What are you going to do about it, Lord Vaati?" he asked slowly, an invisible grin tugging along the corners of his battle-scarred beak.

Vaati stirred at the question. He started speaking contemplatively at first, and then his voice began to hold more conviction. He knew what he had to do. There was only one thing he could do. "The princess's memory loss was no accident," he repeated, "someone made her lose her memories. They most likely wanted to pit Hyrule and the monsters together, just like in the past. They wanted to get rid of me." He was snickering darkly now between his words, and his red eyes burned with rage. "I'll find the one responsible, and they'll regret ever making a fool of me. I'll unleash all of the hellish monsters on them until they reverse what they've done to Zelda. If they can't, I'll end them"

Vaati's fingers curled into fists.

"And I'll win her over again if I have to."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Part of the reason why Zelda had managed to arrange an in-person meeting with King Roland so quickly was because he hadn't left for Labrynna proper yet, and was near castle town. Apparently three days ago, Zelda had already met King Roland of Labrynna to talk about the tension between the two kingdoms resulting from her alliance with monsters. Of course she didn't remember any of it, and it made her embarrassed and nervous to have to talk to Roland again without knowing what, exactly, had been spoken in their previous meeting. Thankfully, Roland had already been informed by Impa about her "condition," and he had enough tact not to mention it and pretend nothing was wrong in that regard. Zelda was grateful for it: she'd always liked Roland for their mutual understanding of their stressful situations that comes with running a kingdom. He was almost like an older brother, a friend, and a collaborator all in one.

"My feelings go out to those affected by the plague," Roland began. They were seated around a roundtable, with Roland and Zelda sitting across from each other and Impa standing next to Zelda for support. The air was heavy, and it was clear that none of them really wanted to be having this meeting.

"Roughly half of the kingdom is affected. We're struggling to keep the kingdom functioning with half of the population incapacitated," Zelda said with a worried expression. One thing to know about the princess, however (as Vaati found out quickly enough after he'd kidnapped her), was that she wasn't exactly the type of princess who wrung her hands and waited for help to fall on her lap when there was trouble. The worried expression could have been considered to be calculated, since her eyes were sharp and searched the other ruler's expression with intense scrutiny. She _knew_ Roland had a cure for the plague, and from what Impa informed her she also knew it was conditional. She would guilt him for withholding the cure if she had to.

Roland fidgeted in his seat uncomfortably. "Yes, and I wanted to reach out to you regarding a cure that Labrynna has." The king wiped his brow, and then propped his hands on the table in front of him. He stared at his thumbs, wondering the best way to phrase his words. "Our kingdom was affected by the same sickness a few months ago, and one of our chemists was able to find a cure."

"A… chemist?" Zelda asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"Or an alchemist. I forget what he refers to himself as, but it's basically no different than a potion brewer," Roland explained. "Labrynna will lend you his services if," he trailed off, scratched his head in a troubled way, and then started again, "Zelda I believe you've been informed of our discussion a few days ago regarding Labrynna's unease with Hyrule's alliance with the monsters…?"

Zelda nodded. "If it's the alliance that is keeping Labrynna from sharing the cure, then Hyrule will terminate the alliance with the monsters." She still wasn't sure how she'd managed to get the monsters to agree to such an alliance since they'd always been violent in nature, but she had no doubt in her mind that the alliance with monsters wouldn't last very long anyway. She didn't understand them, and her people hated them – it wasn't a good foundation.

"I'm afraid it's still more complicated than that," Roland sighed. "When you first made the alliance, you were apparently with an individual who had a considerable amount of control over the monsters. They say he might have, erm, tricked you into this alliance that caused much tension between Labrynna and Hyrule." The king leaned forward, and this time he was more confident with what he had to say. "What I am proposing is that you put an end to this, 'Vaati,' to ensure that he doesn't trick you again, and we will reopen all friendly negotiations with Hyrule as well as offer the chemist in our employ."

_Vaati. _Zelda's brows wrinkled, and she shot a brief glance towards Impa standing next to her. She knew, then, why Impa had told her that they would need to find the sorcerer again. Zelda lowered her gaze and stared intently at her hands that were clenched together on the table. Roland wanted Vaati gone. Zelda still wasn't sure if she wanted the infamous wind mage dead yet, at least not until she had some answers. At the same time, it was the best chance for Hyrule to find a cure quickly. The fact that half of her kingdom was in a wakeless sleep meant that there were families who'd lost a source of income, there were businesses that were no longer running, healers who were no longer available, farms that no longer had farmers to tend and distribute food. Her kingdom really couldn't last long like this, especially without help.

Her head hurt from the decision she would have to make, and even though she'd been disappointed that Vaati had escaped, she was somehow glad that he'd made the decision easier for her. If he was still in that cell, she would be agonizing what to do. Since he was gone, all she had to focus on now was to find him. Detain him. Stop him. It was the price of one man she hardly knew for her kingdom's survival. "Alright Roland," she said quietly, after a confirmatory nod from Impa.

Roland stood up, and sighed one last time with a shake of his head. He looked as though he wanted to say something, perhaps an apology about the things that had been going on or a word of sympathy, but he left it with a shake of his head. He still thought highly of Hyrule's willful princess, but given the circumstances he wasn't sure if it was appropriate for him to give any encouragement. After all, he was half of her problems. Instead, Roland gave Zelda a single nod, wishing her luck, and left the room, leaving the troubled princess and her guardian to solemnly go over their options.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I know there is a wizzrobe you might want to talk to, regarding the poison," the Helmaroc King suggested. He and Vaati had been discussing the blue flower that had been in Zelda's hands, and what kind of substance it had been affected with to cause a memory loss.

Vaati frowned. "A wizzrobe and poisons? I thought they only did fire magic, ice magic, and summoning."

"Yes, well, this one is one of those 'renegades.'"

"Oh…" Vaati's frown deepened. He'd never before met a renegade wizzrobe before, and he'd only ever heard the rumors surrounding them. Wizzrobes were unique from most monsters in the sense that they had their own quirky community with their own extremely strict rules (which was strange, considering how giggly and spontaneous most seemed to be). He didn't involve himself in the affairs of the lower monsters, but he did hear a few things about the Guild Laws that all wizzrobes were mandated to follow. They involved such things like foregoing individuality, forbidding names, and sticking to using one type of magic. If any of the rules were broken, it was said that the other wizzrobes would hastily work to kill the one who had broken them. Renegades were wizzrobes who'd managed to elude the guild and survive; he'd never encountered one himself since they were quite rare to begin with.

Suddenly, Maribel's comment from before made a lot more sense. "I think I heard something about the wizzrobes looking for a renegade," Vaati mentioned.

"Oh, they've been looking for him for months by now I reckon," the Helmaroc King yawned.

"But you know where he is?"

The bird shrugged. "Sure. Arrghus found him bumbling around Eastern Hyrule one day. The only reason he noticed him was because he was acting weirder than normal wizzrobes; something about turning over every single rock around, I don't know."

"I see…" Vaati raised an eyebrow. He wasn't really sure what 'weirder than normal wizzrobes' meant, and wasn't sure if he wanted to find out. "And no one thought to tell any of the wizzrobes this?" he asked.

Helmaroc scoffed. "It's not my damned problem."

Vaati laughed. "Ha. That's what I told them." He played with the tiny glass bottle in his hand with the forget-me-not inside. He was still lost, but he had direction now. This trail might lead him nowhere, but if he could at least find a cure to fix Zelda's memories, then he might be able to find a clue on who was the one responsible for all of this. He had too many suspects right now, especially since nearly everyone in Hyrule had enough of a motive to want Zelda to lose her memories of him. Even Impa, who had helped to point him in the right direction to find a cure and give him confirmation that this wasn't all just an accident, wasn't completely excused from his suspect list. After all, she was a Sheikah, she'd admitted herself that she had more than enough experience to devise a poison that would knock out Zelda's memories, and she could have easily snuck into Zelda's room that morning.

At the same time, why would she help him at all, then? _If_ she was the one responsible, then the only way that would make sense is if she'd wanted him away from Hyrule castle for some reason.

Vaati wasn't stupid. Rash, maybe, and impatient, maybe, but not stupid. He knew with certainty that every single Hylian in Hyrule was a suspect, no matter how helpful they appeared to be. The only people he knew he could trust were his monsters and Zelda herself.

"Well then," he sneered, "let's go find that wizzrobe."

* * *

><p>fleets: And cut! I did write more, but I'm stopping it here. Why? Because I threw in some potential hints about the real nature of what's actually going on here (fun fact, there's a breadcrumb in nearly every chapter), and I didn't want that to be lost with new upcoming introductions. Hopefully I can update again soon since I've already written some of the material for the next chapter :)<p>

Thanks for being awesome everyone! I'm always floored by the reader responses to this story, even though it's a sequel!

**Reily96: **Hahaha ok. I'm putting in hints, tiny ones, in all the chapters so far and sometimes I wonder if I've said too much. I don't think I have yet, but we'll see :P  
>I TOTALLY KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN. It's really hard for me to keep my mouth shut for that very reason you describe XD Fffft it's fine, especially since you're not the type to abandon a story easily ;)<p>

**Flufux: **I always knew you were a genius. That makes me a genius, too. XD  
>DesPonte whoooo! I'm excited :D<p>

**LovelyKiridia: **Hmmm, interesting! Not just one suspect, but several! Certainly a possibility ;) Like Vaati says, pretty much everyone has a motive so it's anything goes right now.

**MasterShortPantsx3: **Hahaha okay. I updated at a less-crazy hour this time, and I feel much more refreshed and awake than when I updated at 2 in the morning lol. Crazy chapter? Good! There's a lot going on and sometimes I have to make sure I didn't forget anything, because this is all going to come together into something comprehensible eventually :P

**Dia Newman: **Speaking of Elise, what's she up to now? She'll show up again soon...

**Ki: **Nooo problem. I updated this chapter uhhh about 4 days since the last one? Yeah idk what came over me. I think it might have to do with the fact that this story is more like a Mystery genre and I'm killing myself with my own cliffhangers. Vaati suspects Impa too ;) TRUST NO ONE

**eureka93: **She could be helping, she could be hurting... who knows?_!_ XD Hmmm, yeah I'm debating whether or not I should change the Adventure/Romance label into something else. I'm not really sure what this story should be filed under.

**LoZMadLover: **He's out for blood!

**Cutiecat: **And here's more to read! I couldn't wait either. lol sometimes I feel like, since the first chapter of this story was called "It's Complicated," I should have just named ch. 2 "It's more complicated," ch. 3 "It's even more complicated," ch. 4 "It's really complicated," ch. 5 "It's really really complicated," etc.

**GamerxOtaku: ** Haha I can see Vaati fitting into the tsundere trope lol. And what indeed is Impa up to? Everyone's a suspect :D

**thebeautifulvaati: **He sure has a big mess to sort through :O Thanks :D


	8. The Renegade Alchemist

fleets: hmmm, so I'm on my 'Spring' Break but honestly I can't see a speck of Spring anywhere. It's like 20 degrees F and it was snowing earlier? Yeah idk.  
>Anyways I'm sorry if anyone has messaged me on dA! I've been a poop trying to reply back, and I will get to them eventually but I've been feeling really distracted lately (more than usual...) so I've been trying not to even open that website. Even this chapter was giving me trouble because I'd keep opening Word, and then closing it, and then opening it again for about 30 times or so because I'd feel super inspired but super unmotivated to actually type something (mostly because I've been really excited about this chapter for a while now, and didn't want it to be meh). Thanks for your patience and support! :)<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8: The Renegade Alchemist<strong>

Vaati wasn't all that thrilled to go find a renegade wizzrobe. He didn't know a lot about them, but he just knew that they were so weird that even the other wizzrobes couldn't stand them. And… they were bad enough that the other wizzrobes wanted to kill them. That's all he really knew about renegade wizzrobes. He had a feeling that he wouldn't like them very much, since he was never really fond of the unpredictable wizzrobes in the first place, and one that didn't even follow their own crazy rules was bound to be troublesome.

Besides, even the normal wizzrobes weirded him out sometimes. Rumor had it that they used to be perfectly normal Hylian men who'd made some kind of twisted deal with a demon from the Dark World to gain magical powers. He wasn't really sure why they were all men, but there was talk that it had something to do with the fact that they were more easily tricked by the lure of magic? At least that kind of made sense, because while Hylian women tended to have natural gifts in magic (like the various witches and fortune tellers, and some Gerudo sorceresses), men rarely had that gift. Some jealous, power-hungry idiot wouldn't hesitate to make a deal with a demon if it allowed them knowledge of magic.

_That story sounds kind of familiar...?_

Vaati shook his head vehemently. They were all second-rate sorcerers who were nothing like him. Nothing at all. And their existence bothered him _a lot_.

Vaati followed the directions that the Helmaroc King had given him. It led him on the far borders of Hyrule, next to the river that led away from the Zora's domain. There, he found a cozy little shack that blended in with the trees, and smoke puffed out from the cobblestone chimney. Someone was home. He kicked open the door without bothering to knock, and he accidentally ended up kicking the door into the unsuspecting resident who'd been walking past.

There was a clatter of shattering glass and an unfortunate thud as a robed figure fell onto the floor. Test tubes slid across the floor, and some liquid that had spilled began to eat through the floor.

"Ah, that's no good." The wizzrobe picked himself up from the floor, and he shuffled over to grab a wet towel and some powder in a bucket. He threw some of the powder onto the liquid that was quickly creating a large hole in the floor, and pushed away some of the broken glassware with the towel. Once he was done, he straightened himself out and faced the visiting wind mage.

The wizzrobe certainly wasn't what other wizzrobes Vaati was used to looked like. He wore a reddish brown robe, indicating that he was a Fire Wizzrobe of a sort, but instead of the normally loosely fitting cloth robe, this one wore a heavy, stiff fabric which was covered by various liquid stains. Thick hide gloves covered his fingers, and instead of the normally colorful masks that other wizzrobes wore, he had a dull orange bird-like mask that covered his entire face.

Vaati waited for the wizzrobe to say something first.

The wizzrobe stared at him expectantly.

Vaati looked at the wizzrobe flatly. After all, wizzrobes tended to be a talkative bunch.

The wizzrobe stared at him expectantly.

Wizzrobes were always giggling. Always.

The wizzrobe stared at him expectantly.

"There's… something I need you to do," Vaati said awkwardly after a prolonged period of staring at each other in complete silence.

The wizzrobe coughed. "Ah, I was wondering if there was something you wanted or if you were going to stand there quietly, looking into my eyes."

"I'm not known for my patience, renegade," Vaati snapped.

The wizzrobe turned around lazily, and walked towards the back of the room where there was a table full of beakers and vials, and pestle and mortar sets. "Hmm, hmm, that's what they call me, is it? Honestly it sounds too intense for a mellow fellow like me," he laughed to himself, "Haha, 'mellow fellow.'"

Vaati followed him inside, careful not to step into the new hole in the floor. This was exactly why he hated dealing with wizzrobes in general; they never took anything seriously, including people like him! "I want you to tell me what-"

"Hmm, hmm, a flower? In a bottle. A pretty little thing," The wizzrobe suddenly whirled around, almost causing the sorcerer to crash into his face.

"Tch, watch where you're-"

The wizzrobe snatched the bottle with the flower in Vaati's hand and brought it up to the light. He tapped the glass with his finger and turned it over a few times before he finally popped open the cap. The wizzrobe took a slip of paper from somewhere within his robe and stuck it inside the bottle. After a while, it turned a dark blue color. "Ah, a poison," he announced, "Curious. Let's chat while I work."

Before Vaati could say any more, the wizzrobe cleared his workbench and put together a series of apparatuses. He dropped the flower into a ceramic mortar and crushed it with the pestle. He then proceeded to mix various liquids with it until there was a blackish mixture, and it was poured into a distilling set. "My name is DesPonte," the wizzrobe said conversationally as he lit a flame under the glassware, "The wizzrobes are a boring bunch, yes? Always giggling like madmen, and yet they have so many rules, I couldn't keep up. I'm too dull to remember all of them, see. Besides, I like my name. A better ring than 'Fire Wizzrobe.' Wanted me to get rid of it." DesPonte twirled his fingers around the glass and cast some kind of spell. Instantly, the black liquid turned a deep purple and there was now a greenish liquid pooling inside the collection bottle.

"Aren't you a wizzrobe?" Vaati scrunched his nose. Still somewhat curious, he tried to peer over DesPonte's shoulders. Although he was familiar with basic potion brewing, whatever it was that DesPonte was doing wasn't like any kind of potion brewing he knew of.

"I suppose I am. Really, though, I'm just an alchemist with some fire magic," the wizzrobe scraped out the solid goo that was left in the distiller into a drying dish. He set fire under that, too, until all the moisture was gone.

_An alchemist?_ Vaati never thought those people actually existed. Didn't they try to turn things into gold or rupees… or some such?

"Ah, see, alchemist. The wizzrobes didn't understand my passion in life." DesPonte tossed a green rupee over his shoulder, which the sorcerer caught. "Hmm, hmm, yes, these things called rupees. The Hylians use it for currency."

Vaati looked at the rupee in his hand. It was about the size of a small pebble. He threw it into a jar. "What business does a wizzrobe have with money?" he asked. Although some monsters like the Rupee Like and the dragons liked to hoard rupees, most monsters found no use for Hylian currency. Especially wizzrobes.

"None, really," DesPonte admitted with a lazy shrug. He walked over to a large book and began to flip through its worn pages. It seemed to be a reference book of some kind. "But ah, curious. You find rupees in all sorts of places. In grass. Under stones. Underwater. In jars. Scattered in all corners of the world. How do they get there? Why are they there? Interesting questions." He put the book away and moved over to a cabinet. "There's only one conclusion, hmmm? They spontaneously appear. Something about the grass. Something about the jars. They only appear in tall grass, you see, and under certain sized stones. What makes these grass different? What of the stones?"

"I'm going to make this _really_ simple for you," Vaati said slowly. He snapped his fingers, and dozens of rupees, green and red, dropped to the floor with bell-like tinkles. "That's how."

DesPonte paused his work, and stared at the rupees all over the floor. His eyes widened behind his mask, and Vaati could practically see the cogs turning in his head. For a moment, Vaati wondered if he'd just smashed the wizzrobe's dream to find the answers to his life work. That didn't seem to be the case, however. After a while, DesPonte's shoulders slouched, and he went back to picking out different solutions from the cabinet. "Hmm, hmm? Magic I see. Some altruistic individual conjures rupees across Hyrule you say? No, that is a silly idea. Impossible for one person to hide rupees in so many places at once," DesPonte tutted, "Stupid for one person to be so benevolent without any logical return."

"Now imagine an entire race of these stupid individuals," Vaati said tiredly.

"Interesting. You say there is a race that hides rupees? For enjoyment?" the wizzrobe set down the bottles of liquid he'd picked out, as well as some bottles containing different plants, roots, and… other… things.

"Right."

DesPonte paused again, and this time he turned around, leaning back against his workbench and looking at Vaati with an incredulous expression. Finally he shook his head sadly. "Lord Vaati has a big imagination. A charming outlook, but incorrect."

Vaati shrugged. He never thought he'd manage to make a wizzrobe of all things to think he was being ridiculous, but whatever. Honestly he could see where DesPonte was coming from: the Minish were an idiotic race and they could all go extinct for all he cared. What kind of race spent their entire time serving other races without getting anything in return? What kind of race wasted their lives hiding rupees in the most obscure places for other races to find? A stupid one.

A dying one.

DesPonte's chatter interrupted Vaati's thoughts about the Minish. It seemed that the wizzrobe was at least talkative regarding topics of his studies. "Hmm, but see, I test the spontaneous conjuration hypothesis. Alchemy! There must be a natural reason why rupees appear," he mumbled to himself, "A reaction, surely? Need the right reagents. But what combination? Needs more study." DesPonte mixed a bunch of things into a bubbling potion pot. "Sigh. I've mostly succeeded in creating various poisons. Also bombs. Many, many bombs. A messy conclusion. An expensive endeavor. How unfortunate that I would need rupees to try to make more rupees."

A few minutes later, the wizzrobe scooped up some of the liquid from the potion pot into a bottle, sealed it with a cork, and dropped it into Vaati's hand. "Aha, cure was simple. Here, take this. Have the victim drink it, it should work within the hour."

Vaati looked at the new bottle in his hand. It was a tiny bottle with about two teaspoons of clear liquid. The sorcerer frowned, wondering how the wizzrobe knew he'd wanted a cure when he'd never mentioned such a thing.

"Well I assumed that's why you came here. Simple logic," DesPonte explained, reading Vaati's mind. Then, he started cleaning his workbench again, getting ready to go back to whatever it was he'd been doing before Vaati's unannounced visit.

"Wait." Vaati stopped him. For a brief, rare second, DesPonte actually managed to appear nervous, intimidated by the way the sorcerer was approaching him. The aura around him was deadly, ready to kill. "I want to know more about the poison. What is it?"

DesPonte, coughed, clearing his throat. He talked a little quickly, trying to regain his composure. "Hmm, hmm, it localizes its attack to knock out memories. Very faint vapor fumes would do it. Must smell it. The fumes rid memory by-"

"I was already told how it works," Vaati snapped. He strode over, grabbed the wizzrobe by the collar and roughly pulled his face down to his. "I want to know where it's from. Where can it be obtained? How common is it? What kind of person would be able to make it?"

Still being pulled downwards by the shorter wind mage, DesPonte took a deep breath. "Ah, now you ask the boring questions. I see. Very well." He straightened up hastily when the sorcerer released his hold, and then somewhat disgruntled, stalked off to a corner. "Poison. Liquid. Converts to gas fairly quickly, but not too quickly that it evaporates instantaneously. Hmm, combustion analysis, green flame? Faint compounds from… swamp regions. Bogs. Hmm, hmm, yes I believe that's all I can say. Easy for me to make. Not sure how easy for others."

_Bog? _Vaati's eyes widened when he remembered something he'd heard recently. He hadn't paid much attention when he'd first heard it, but now…

_Manhandla!_ Vaati thought about the report by that poe, Maribel, that he'd brushed aside before.

"_There have been several people who have approached it but only took some water samples and left it alone…"_

_Several people? _Vaati turned his heel abruptly and made for the door. _Could it be… there's more than one person behind this?_! Wait, no, he wasn't sure yet. He didn't know for sure that the Manhandla report had anything to do with this, but he needed to make sure. He glanced at the cure in his hands, and then glowered. As much as he wanted to get Zelda back to normal as soon as possible, there wasn't much time to go see the Manhandla. He didn't know who he was dealing with, and the more time passed the less likely it was that the monster would be able to tell him anything useful; he had to go there first. He needed to go to the swamp and get that slobbering four-headed plant to tell him everything it knew. He hadn't considered it before, but if there really were multiple people involved then… _I'm going to kill them all._

DesPonte seemed a little less nervous now that Vaati had given him some breathing room and was on his way out the door. He waved his hand conversationally. "Ah, Lord Vaati, have you heard of the plague in Hyrule? Interesting topic. Intriguing. Wonder what caused it, yes?"

Vaati wasn't paying attention. He didn't care about the stupid plague right now – he needed to go to that swamp.

"First time Hyrule might actually fall, truly and surely, in many a century," DesPonte insisted loudly, "It wasn't the great lords who felled it, but a disease! Curious. Interesting."

Vaati paused with his hand on the doorknob. He turned his head slowly, and then searched the wizzrobe's face. It betrayed nothing except the curiosity of an observer, and the unspoken question "What are you going to do about it?"

Would Vaati let Hyrule fall by something other than his own hand?

"Goodbye," DesPonte finally waved after the sorcerer had left. The wizzrobe dusted himself off and went back to his workbench. "You'll be back."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It was the second time Link was summoned to meet Princess Zelda within a week. Even though Link was happy that they were finally talking again after nearly a year of awkward silence, a part of him was cautious to feel too grateful for the meetings. When he stepped into the throne room, Zelda had her back to him, and her head was angled downwards as though she were troubled. It reminded him of back when she'd summoned him that fateful day, right before she'd been kidnapped, to accompany her to the Four Sword Sanctuary. Link already knew his answer to whatever it was Zelda was going to ask of him: if she needed help, he wasn't going to hesitate.

"Link I…" Zelda turned around halfway, but she wouldn't face him completely, "I feel terrible for asking this of you, but you're the only one who can help me." She glanced his way, and when Link gave a silent nod of understanding, she gave a tired smile appreciatively, "I haven't even told you what I need help with yet."

"Whatever it is, I'll help you."

Zelda looked towards her feet again in shame. It really wasn't fair to have Link go through this again, even though he would no doubt say he wouldn't mind, but she saw no other alternative. "As you know, the plague has reduced the number of guards I can ask for help, especially since whatever soldiers are left have their hands full trying to help the rest of the kingdom. All capable hands are currently helping take over some of the essential jobs that have been crippled because of the plague." The princess sighed heavily, "Labrynna has offered a cure on the condition that the Wind Mage Vaati is defeated. I'm sorry Link, you're the only one I can ask to defeat him."

Link nodded again. "You can count on m-"

"I'm going too!"

Link and Zelda looked up at the visitor who had burst through the doors, pushing past the guards and Impa and striding right up to the steps of the throne. Elise the White Maiden stopped next to the surprised Link and crossed her arms haughtily. "I heard wind that we are going to defeat the vile sorcerer once and for all." Then, she gave a brief smile and a respectful bow, "Hylia be praised you have returned to your senses, Princess Zelda."

"Thank you, Elise," Zelda returned a smile, though it was a somewhat troubled one. "I'm still trying to adjust." Then, she noticed Link's confused expression. "Ah! Link, I don't think I ever introduced you two properly before. This is the White Maiden, Elise. She's been helping me come up with the seven maiden project. It would be one of Hyrule's greatest lines of defense against monsters."

"Uhm, well the project has come to a near halt this past year," Elise bit her lip, "But that's fine! We can renew our efforts now that we have our true enemy in our sights!" she added hurriedly when Zelda looked down at her feet in shame.

At this time, Link spoke up in a somewhat awkward manner. "I'm not sure if it's a good idea for you to come with me," he said slowly. He was used to working alone, and although company was nice, he didn't know if he could be responsible enough to look out for the safety of another person. Elise raised her eyebrows, obviously offended, so he clarified, "look, we're going to be going after Vaati and it's going to be really dangerous."

"Actually I wouldn't be too worried about that, Link," Zelda ensured. "Elise is a very capable priestess with powerful light magic. We used to train together after all."

The priestess fidgeted in embarrassment with a light blush on her cheeks and mumbled her thanks. Then, with renewed confidence from Zelda's words, she turned towards the still-skeptical Link. "Right, so I'm going with you," she declared. "In fact, you _need_ me to be able to defeat Vaati for good. The Four Sword isn't good enough."

"You have an idea, Elise?" Zelda asked, "It is inevitable that the Four Sword will weaken over time, but I've never heard of anything that is more powerful."

Elise shook her head. "No, it is not necessary to find another weapon." The priestess reached into a small white bag she had slung across her shoulders, and pulled out a large map of the entire Hyrule region. She laid it out across the floor and the three of them gathered around it. On it, four locations were marked with a red circle. "Instead, we temper the blade," she explained, "I've been searching these past few years as part of the seven maiden project on the location of sacred ore that can be used to make the Four Sword even more powerful. Once we have them, we can have a skilled blacksmith temper the blade. I believe it can be powerful enough that it would defeat Vaati forever."

"Forever…" Zelda repeated softly. If they pulled this off, if this really worked, then no one would ever have to face Vaati's wrath ever again. Likewise, if this worked, then the answers to her questions about her memory loss may also be lost forever. Even though she knew that Vaati needed to be defeated in order to retrieve the cure from Labrynna, she'd never actually considered his defeat to be a 'forever.' The fact that there was still a possibility to release him again, gave her some weird sense of comfort that the answers to her questions weren't lost forever. It was all selfish reasons for not wanting him gone completely, really. Logically it made perfect sense to defeat such a powerful menace once and for all, but there was a nagging part of her that made her reluctant to be one hundred percent on board with this plan. The way the sorcerer had looked at her, like he'd been betrayed in the most terrible way, flashed in her mind's eye. _Why did you look at me like that?_

"Zelda?"

Zelda looked up, startled, and she realized Link and Elise had been talking to her. Both of them were searching her face, concerned that something was wrong. She shoved her thoughts aside, shaking her head clear. Instead, she focused on the one thing that had always given her direction whenever she had to make difficult decisions for her kingdom. Her reluctance to rid Vaati forever was an artifact of her selfishness. If she followed her duty to her kingdom, the answer was simple. At least... that's what she told herself. "Elise," she instructed, causing the priestess to straighten up, "please be Link's guide to acquire the ores, and help him however you can."

"Of course, princess."

Then, Zelda turned to Link and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. It was somewhat apologetic, as though she were still guilty about asking him to do this for her, "ensure the darkness never returns," she murmured. Her feelings weren't into it, however, and it was betrayed in her voice.

Link put on a brave smile. "I won't fail you," he said with conviction, and Zelda was thankful for it. No matter what her decision, Link was always behind her, supporting her. It gave her a comfortable illusion that she wasn't making a mistake after all.

* * *

><p>fleets: Say hi to DesPonte :3<br>Sorry for those of you who were expecting Thistle, but he won't appear as a major character this story (especially since this story is before Rend, if there even is a timeline for my stories, so he's still kind of figuring himself out and isn't officially 'Thistle' yet, if that makes any sense ha). I'm not going to explain more than is already explained in the chapters about what renegade wizzrobes are, since they kind of spoil my other stories somewhat.  
>I also deduced that all of the wizzrobes in my stories are male. I won't blabber about my entire thoughts on the matter here, since that's not what this story is about, but maybe one day I'll share a little more about my thoughts on my OC wizzies.<br>But anyways, so yeah DesPonte is a completely different character to Thistle. They're quirky in different ways, so hopefully I can get that across since I definitely don't want them overwriting each other. While DesPonte thinks the idea of the Minish is absurd, I'm pretty sure Thistle would believe the story instantly. In that sense Dessy would get along with Vaati more probably.

Eh, yeah, stuff happens. Elise happens. Does this make her a bigger suspect? I know some of you think it's her already :) I kind of thought it would be a neat idea if there was something that happened between FS and FSA that prevented Vaati from coming back EVER (well, ok, I'm still hoping Nintendo would feature him in a game again but I really don't have high hopes heh...). I figured upgrading the sword might do it!

**Dia Newman: **Haha that's fine :) I'd be surprised if people followed the breadcrumbs since they're not supposed to be super obvious yet

**thebeautifulvaati: **Insane(ly) angry Vaati is one of my favorites to write haha

**MasterShortPantsx3: **Could it have been her? She definitely has a motive (then again everyone does) XD

**Ki: **I have a soft spot for the Helmaroc King, especially since he was my favorite boss in WW :D. No Thistle this time! He's had his time to shine :)

**Reily96: **A serious(?) wizzrobe for once. I actually based him off of my chemistry professor who rarely spoke with full sentences... Ffff me too idk why but there's something about the crazy fictional characters that I always end up liking -_-;;

**TriceratopsX: **Yupyup! My outline is my best friend in this story, otherwise I risk forgetting to mention important seemingly-minor things that end up important later on (like the Manhandla mention a few chapters ago that ended up being relevant in this chapter). Elise is crossed out, Impa still a suspect! It's really interesting for me to hear everyone's different guesses on who they think is the bad guy in this story :3

**GamerxOtaku: **You think you know who it is? oooo well I have been dropping hints :D I wonder if you're right hehe :)

**Cutiecat: **It's partly Vaati's fault he's in this whole situation, since he tried to be a menace to the kingdom and all haha. I guess it's Karma? And ahh a road trip! I usually get carsick when I do anything other than sleep or look out the window D: I wish I had your no-carsick-reading skills!

**eureka93: **Well technically you wouldn't be wrong if you blamed everyone, since there has to be the suspect among those somewhere...? (throw them all in jail! whoohooo!) Haha yeah that does sound like a Zelda thing to do XD  
>Epic ey...? Well we'll see about that! There's always a possibility I would sink this thing (which is why I'm always excited yet terrified of writing the ending chapter).<br>They're actually really pretty flowers! Cute, too :D I think there's a place in the world where there's an entire blue field covered with them.


	9. The Silent Swamp

fleets: Ok, ok so I haven't visited dA in a while so I don't know what's going on over there (again, sorry if you messaged me and I haven't replied). I'll visit it eventually and reply to anyone who attempted to communicate with me (I'm sorry!).

Well, um, yeah, so I guess here's another chapter. I was a little stressed with real life stuff, so I ended up writing, and here we are.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9: The Silent Swamp<strong>

Vaati reconvened with the Helmaroc King just as the sun was beginning to set. He glanced up at the falling sun irritably, annoyed that there were so many things he needed to do but not enough time to do it all in a single day. Impa had given him a hint on what to do this morning, and it had taken nearly an entire day to get advice from the Helmaroc King, find the wizzrobe, and figure out what to do next. While Vaati was closer to figuring out who he was up against, he still felt like he didn't have anything substantial. He preferred it when his enemy was visible, that they didn't take the cowardly way to fight and went against him head on. It was a smart way to fight him, he admitted grudgingly to himself, because anyone who fought him fairly would undoubtedly lose. In that sense, he liked Link better than whoever he was going against now; at least that idiot came running, waving his sword, charging straight on without a hint of fear.

That was assuming, however, that Link wasn't also part of this underhanded scheme to get rid of him.

When darkness hit, it was going to be easier to miss things, but if Vaati kept putting things off until the morning then he would be giving his enemies more time to hide their tracks. There was another thing, too, that he had to worry about now. The sorcerer was impatient to go to the swamp and he knew he had to go there soon, but what DesPonte had said right as he'd left the little shack had gnawed on his mind. Hyrule would fall, but not by his hand. In fact, it wasn't going to fall by anyone's hand, but by a mysterious disease that had suddenly struck nearly half of the kingdom's population. Every day that passed, Hyrule grew weaker, and by the time he solved this whole mess there might not even _be_ a Hyrule to come back to.

"I _hate_ playing hero," Vaati muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" The Helmaroc King, perched on a rock next to the sorcerer, cocked his head, but Vaati just waved his hand dismissively.

"There's a reason I summoned you in particular," Vaati said, ignoring the Helmaroc King's question. He gazed at Hyrule castle far in the distance. The brown roofs of the town were scattered in a peaceful bustle around the serene white castle. From where Vaati was sitting, no one could have guessed that the kingdom was struggling, slowly losing its fight against a plague. "Hyrule might fall this time. To a plague."

Helmaroc followed the sorcerer's gaze, and then huffed. "Typical of them to succumb to such ailments." The bird clicked his beak unsympathetically, "let them fall, I say. Weed out the ones who are too weak to survive. Perhaps they will eventually learn that clinging on to ones already lost will only weaken them further."

"I share your sentiments," Vaati agreed, "but it irritates me that I wasn't the one who conquered Hyrule. That kingdom was mine – no, it still _is_ mine, and something else is trying to take it away from me. I won't allow it to fall so easily." Then, he added in a voice that was too low for the bird to hear, "it's not what she would have wanted."

"Ha! How in the world would you stop a plague, Lord Vaati? How do you defeat something that is intangible? It is their own fault for being crippled by a disease," the Helmaroc King scoffed. The bird didn't understand plagues, either. For some reason or other, monsters never got sick. Traditionally, monsters were the ones to spread disease but they rarely got sick themselves. It was just another reason why monsters tended to disrespect the frail Hylians. "Why not take advantage of the situation and run over Hyrule for good? We've all been itching for something to do. The princess's orders are the only reason we refrain from punishing the Hylians for their weakness, but your word is the last as our Lord and Master."

Vaati's eyes narrowed as he stared at the quiet kingdom. He knew exactly how Hyrule was going to die a slow death with the current state of affairs. Even though he knew that Zelda would do everything in her power to keep it afloat, it would eventually, inevitably fall if she couldn't find a cure. To suddenly have half of the kingdom incapacitated was extremely damaging. On top of trying to figure out how the kingdom was going to run with so many people unable to work, there was another issue of finding enough people to care for the ones who had been affected by the plague. They would die eventually, if they didn't wake to eat, and the only course of option was to probably keep them in stasis crystals. If this went on long enough, Hyrule would be in such disarray that it would fall apart.

The one thing that might keep them going for some time was the idea that he was the source of Hyrule's misfortunes. Hyrule knew, or at least it thought it knew, who their real enemy was, and that person was Vaati. As long as they believed that, then they could probably struggle on for an additional month or two more while they worked on trying to get rid of him.

_I wonder if Zelda thinks I caused the plague, too._

Vaati scowled. She probably did. She probably thought he was responsible for everything wrong that's been happening. Impa was the only one who didn't think he'd caused the plague, but he doubted that the Sheikah would have told Zelda about it. Like Impa had said, she had no real motivation to absolve Vaati from blame. From the moment they'd met, it had been clearly established that he and Impa were not allies, and the only reason why Impa would even pretend to help him was if it might help Zelda.

Yeah. Zelda probably blamed him for everything right now.

_Well it's not like I care if Zelda blames me,_ he thought sourly, _I could do a whole lot worse than a stupid plague. A lot worse. Let them watch me turn the entire kingdom to stone. If they think a plague is the best I could do then they're going to have a nasty surprise. Me? A plague? That's not terrifying, that's just depressing. I thrive on terror: who do they think I am?_! _They insult my capabilities._

"…Lord Vaati you're talking to yourself again."

Vaati blinked at the sound of Helmaroc's voice. He hadn't noticed that he'd been thinking aloud.

"So? Shall we turn Hyrule to stone, Lord Vaati?" the bird echoed Vaati's mutterings.

Vaati scowled again, and frowned at his feet. There was something he was struggling with, regarding the plague. The thing was, he knew exactly what he could do to help Hyrule. And he knew what steps to take because of his background. All of the things that had been drilled into his head when he'd been a kid, all of the natural, foolish instincts that he just couldn't get rid of no matter how hard he tried, could tell him what needed to be done to help Hyrule. It was because he'd once been a part of a race that was so stupid that all they ever did was help people. Stupid. Idiotic. Pitiful to the extremes. How he hated them. How he wanted them to burn up in flames.

The Minish.

"I summoned you again for a reason," Vaati repeated his earlier words, ignoring the Helmaroc King's question again. He grimaced a bit at how easily his next words came out of his mouth, like he'd always been ready to do this kind of work rather than terrorize everyone. "I want you to spread word to the other monsters. Do what they can to ease the mass collapse of the kingdom from the plague."

The Helmaroc King's yellow eyes squinted from behind his mask, but he said nothing. At the same time, he didn't hide his incredulous expression.

"Thieves would take advantage of the current confusion, so tell the poes and ghinis to patrol castle town at night. It should be easy for them to do while staying out of sight of the remaining guards because they can move through walls. If there's anyone suspicious about, tell the ghosts to scare them: they're good at that."

The great bird listened carefully, still surprised, while Vaati continued.

"The miniblins can sneak into abandoned homes. Do some housekeeping for places where the inhabitants were put down by the plague. Moblins should help with physical labor. There's bound to be farmhands missing, or other places that need heavy lifting. But they are not to make a scene. Avoid the Hylians unless absolutely necessary, because that would only complicate things…" he trailed off, and then noticed the Helmaroc King looking at him blankly. "Did you get all of that?"

The great bird ruffled his feathers, and tapped his beak against the ground distractedly. "Er, yes." The Helmaroc King couldn't help but wonder where Vaati had learned how to be so… helpful. It was a little weird, and it made him uncomfortable. It was completely out of character from the frightening demon eye who was powerful and normally selfish.

Vaati didn't fail to catch the hesitation, and in an instant he transformed into the black eye, towering over the Helmaroc King and pressuring him threateningly. "_Did you get all of that?"_ The demon eye repeated, his voice booming against the rocks and causing a few pebbles to roll down the mountain.

The Helmaroc King straightened up almost immediately in front of the glaring eye that took up most of his view. Whatever uncertainty the bird had about Vaati instantly vanished. "Yes."

"_Good."_ Vaati floated a few feet back, giving the bird some space. _"I'm leaving that to you. I have other matters to take care of,"_ the demon eye ordered, and without another word he flew off towards the south. There was a swamp monster he needed to pay a visit to, and it was going to tell him everything it could about those suspicious people who'd been seen wandering around the swamp recently.

He'd gotten his hands on Zelda's cure in a single day. With any luck, he might be able to find out the ones responsible by nightfall.

Vaati laughed bitterly to himself.

Ha. There was no way things were going to be that easy.

XXXXXXXXXXX

The sun was on its last leg across the sky, almost dipping past the horizon in a burst of orange, by the time Vaati arrived at Hyrule's southern swamps. The monstrous black eye had been a shadowy blur as it sped past Hyrule, and anyone who'd seen the sorcerer fly towards the swamp must have thought he was a rapidly moving storm cloud. The cattails bowed to the winds when Vaati hovered to a stop above the stagnant pools where the Manhandla was said to reside.

"_Manhandla! Show yourself!"_ Vaati shouted. Startled guays flew away, and Vaati waited for the four headed plant to answer his summons. Vaati's blood red eye darted left and right at the bubbles that occasionally popped over the surface of the water, but they appeared to be nothing more than gas escaping from the mud below.

It was quiet. Too quiet. The demon eye clenched its black claws apprehensively, and then it noticed something on the edge of its vision. Turning around, Vaati noticed some trees that appeared to be freshly damaged, and they formed a path deeper into the denser, wooded area of the swamp away from the open water. It almost looked like some large creature had run through those trees in a rampage.

Suspicious, he floated over to the broken tree trunks half-submerged in the swamp water. He peered through the darker interior of the denser woods: he wouldn't be able to squeeze in easily in his demon form. Vaati transformed back into his Hylian form, and he landed on top of a splintered tree trunk. Then, he sent several scouting sentry eyes into the woods ahead, and he slowly followed behind them, hovering just above the water's surface.

Dusk was working against him now, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to find any clues in the dimming light. The very end of the broken trees led him to just more swamp. The water was shallower here, and there were some muddy patches of grass that was solid enough to stand on. "Manhandla!" Vaati called again. The monster _had_ to be here, but where was it?

Suddenly, one of the sentry eyes alerted him to something unusual several feet away from where Vaati was floating. The sorcerer teleported over, and his brows furrowed at what awaited him there. Partly submerged in the murky swamp water, an enormous monster lay slain. At first glance it looked like a gigantic, bluish plant that was covered in thorns, but there were four eyeless heads similar to Deku Babas that extended out from it. The heads were huge: it could easily eat a person whole.

Vaati landed on top of one of the monster's heads, and gave it a sharp stomp with his foot. No response. The Manhandla was dead.

The sorcerer didn't know what to think. He'd been expecting to see the swamp monster alive, so that it would be able to tell him something about the suspicious visitors. Instead, it was dead and everything it could have told him had died with it. He'd come here trying to find answers to his questions, and instead found more questions and no answers.

Who had killed it? And why? Did someone decide to silence the monster because of something it knew?

Vaati summoned a small light to combat the increasing darkness. The sun had set by now, and the trees weren't making it any easier to see the area clearly. Under the light's blue-white glow, Vaati saw that there were large slashes across the Manhandla's jaws, along with dried splashes of red blood mixed with the monster's blue. It had fought a person with a blade, and most likely not another monster. He looked some more. In the submerged part of the Manhandla's neck, he saw the feathered tip of an arrow lodged into the monster. Curious, he reached into the water and pulled it out with a bit of a struggle.

Yes, a person had definitely done this. This wasn't some internal feud between monsters. He tossed the arrow aside and wiped his hand dry on his tunic. Now that he was convinced that someone had killed the Manhandla, the monster that might have been able to tell him who was responsible for Zelda's memory loss, he needed to find out who the killer was.

Or who _they_ were.

Another one of his sentries called him from the edge of the swamp water where there was muddy ground. Footprints, it notified him. Several footprints belonging to a group of people, all wearing boots. Vaati wasn't too surprised at this point: the Manhandla was a ferocious, powerful creature, and it would have taken more than a single person to bring it down. A group had come through this swamp with the purpose of killing it. Was his prime target among them, or had they simply been following the orders of someone else? And again, the question always came back to this: why did they kill the Manhandla?

His leads ended there. There were plenty of people who could have wanted the monster dead, and there were plenty of people with swords and arrows to do the job. There were also plenty of people who had the motivation to cause Zelda's memory loss, and to make him the villain, so his list of suspects still remained at an all-time high of "everybody." Frustrated, Vaati slapped away a sentry that had been hovering too close to his face.

Could this swamp tell him nothing of use? Was his only option now to give Zelda the cure, somehow, and see if she remembered anything useful?

There was a reason why he hesitated simply rushing over to her now and giving her a cure. He didn't know if he wanted to see her cringe away from him again, completely oblivious to everything they'd ever gone through. It had been bad enough experiencing that kind of loss the first time, and meeting her again would be just like losing her all over again.

Slipping the cure in her drink without anyone noticing was easier said than done, because he knew that Impa was frustratingly meticulous about checking what was served to the princess. Now that everyone knew he was "on the loose," security would undoubtedly be heightened. He'd have to face her himself, somehow… or something… well, okay, so he had no idea how he was even going to get Zelda to take the cure when everyone suspected him to be "up to no good." Of course he could tell Impa he'd found the cure, but he couldn't trust that guardian to let him give it to the princess. Impa might have helped him once, but he still didn't consider her clear from his list of suspicious people.

Another abrupt call from one of his sentries interrupted Vaati's thoughts. Now that it was dark, they appeared as zipping red lights in the swamp with their glowing eyes. One of them flew around in exaggerated circles some distance away, and then sent Vaati a mental image of something it had found stuck in the mud. Immediately, Vaati teleported over, and his eyes narrowed when he saw what it was.

It was a smooth pole snapped in half that was lodged in the ground, and the sentry had first found it when it had noticed the corner of blue and gold fabric sunk into the brown mud. Vaati pulled it out in a swift motion, and revealed it to be the tip of a sharp spear. What was of interest, however, was the torn remains of the banner that had been tied to it. The banner was a dark navy blue, and although most of it was torn off, Vaati could make out the gold outline of an insignia with a tree.

Vaati's hands clenched the pole angrily. "Good work," he praised the sentry, and the little eye bat fluttered around happily before it flew off to find any other things of interest. The sorcerer, however, didn't need any more information about what had happened here.

The insignia was Labrynna's. The banner indicated that Labrynnian soldiers had killed the Manhandla, and the one to order this would undoubtedly be their king, Roland. Vaati remembered the worried, red-haired man who had visited Hyrule a day before the incident that left Zelda without her memories, and he knew now that Labrynna's king was definitely involved in this. "I should have dealt with him right then and there," Vaati mused, "Labrynna's king is going to have a visit from me soon, and he better have some good answers prepared."

Roland might weasel out some reason that he'd killed the Manhandla simply because the monster was a monster that needed to be killed, but Vaati knew better. Manhandla's death was too convenient – the monster _knew_ something, and Roland wanted to hide it from him. Some suspicious people had been visiting the swamp, collecting water samples, which was something DesPonte had told him was part of the poison used on Zelda. Manhandla had come in contact with these people, and now it was dead by the hands of Labrynnian soldiers. Yes, Roland was a part of this, and the king was going to answer to him. No doubt Roland also had a hand in the plague's appearance as well, which had occurred just two days after Zelda had lost her memories.

But… this probably wasn't going to work with Vaati's usual methods of direct confrontation. He'd learned a bit from Zelda over the past year that a victory wasn't exactly a victory if there were strong repercussions afterwards. Before, he would have immediately rushed to Labrynna and given Roland a waking nightmare, but he'd learned a thing or two about the value of careful planning. Even if he managed to get Roland to admit his part in Zelda's "accident," what would that accomplish? Self-satisfaction that he'd been right to suspect Roland? If he turned the king of Labrynna to stone in front of the entire court, would that solve everything?

It would be a brief moment of glee, but it wouldn't be as sweet as it would be if he could have Hyrule behind him as well. To be able to point his finger and laugh while everyone who'd gone against him grudgingly agreed to admit he was right; now _that_ would be the perfect way to claim victory. He wanted Labrynna to crumble and fall on top of its pile of lies. Afterwards, well, maybe he'd give Labrynna a taste of what wrath Hyrule had endured from the great sorcerer of winds.

And to do that he'd need… backup. A trump card, should things go wrong. He needed Zelda behind him, with her memories returned.

Vaati winced. He still hadn't figured out how to get the cure to Zelda, and he was still reluctant about having to meet her face to face. He looked up at the sky. The stars were starting to appear where the sky was no longer dusky red. For now, he would go back to the Palace of Winds and sleep on what he'd accomplished today.

* * *

><p>fleets: whoo lots of stuff in here.<p>

I've always liked the interpretation by some fans that Vaati didn't completely lose his Minish habits. They're inherently helpful, so Vaati can't help it if he's good at knowing what to do to make people's lives better :P Sometimes I have this stupid image of Vaati fussing over dirty dishes and cleaning things to the extreme.  
>This chapter I introduced the Manhandla! Yay! I drew it in a few sketches for the characters that would appear in this story, because I'm pretty fond of the monster. Generally, "fond" translates to "dead" more often than not in my stories, so sorry if you guys expected it to appear alive XD<p>

And finally, Roland. Did Vaati get it right? Either way I'd hate to be Roland right now.

Thank you thank you thank you everyone who's been reading this story! I had a really crazy surprise when I learned that there were over 550 unique visitors in just this past month who'd decided to give this story a chance, and I'm going to try my hardest to make this story worth your while!

**Patchworkcrows: **Oh dear, please stay alive. I'd hate to have 'murder' on my resume when I start looking for jobs.  
>THAT'S TRUE. Although... I'm still really skeptical since Nintendo seems to have lost all interest in Vaati and have been replacing him with a bunch of other similarly flamboyant villains (Ghira, Yuga...)<p>

**TheMultiColoredPencil: **Thanks for your continued support! Hopefully I can keep the surprises coming until the very end!

**GamerxOtaku: **Haha yeahhh Elise does not like Vaati. At all. Haha okay :) I guess we'll find out if you're right when I reveal with certainty who'd done it ;)

**Flufux: **Mordin! God I love that Salarian :D. DesPonte was inspired by my old chemistry professor, who also probably had a Mordin-flair. He talks slower than Mordin though (because dang does Mordin talk _fast_).

**Dia Newman: **The maidens! Interesting idea ;) Vaati seems convinced Labrynna had to do with this, but only time will tell

**Cattycheeno: **Haha exactly! But what happy couple doesn't butt heads every now and then? XD

**thebeautifulvaati: **DesPonte is really different from Thistle. He's more mellow, less ambitious, and probably more sure of himself since he doesn't have Thistle's inferiority complex.

**Ki: **There's something about wizzrobes that I find very fun to write, probably because they lighten the mood in an otherwise gloomy story idk. And ahhh thank you so much! I think about the OCs way too much probably haha. If Annoying was a character, then Elise would be it. I didn't create her to be liked, that's for sure XD

**SweetestChick: **Vaati unfortunately has a lot of things going against him: maybe if he had a better track record before this whole mess, then Zelda might have given him a chance (THAT'S KARMA FOR YOU, VAATI). Elise not the main antagonist, hmm? What with this chapter's developments, I wonder if you're right :P

**Cutiecat: **Haha don't worry, he paid attention. Although it kind of does sound like DesPonte knows more than he seems at the very end of the last chapter, so maybe it would have been better to stay just a little longer...? Maybe?  
>I had immediately labeled Elise as The Great Annoyer when I was just starting to make the outline for this story haha<p>

**MasterShortPantsx3: **DesPonte would like to thank you for thinking he is cool :)

**eureka93: **Everyone! Including Zelda! And all the monsters! And Vaati himself!  
>I love wizzrobes! They show up quite a bit in all of my stories. I really started to like them when I saw them in WW because they had so much character :D<br>The idea of Minish and rupees actually isn't mine: it was mentioned in the Minish Cap that the Minish were the ones responsible for scattering rupees around Hyrule for adventurers like Link to find :)

**LovelyKiridia: **You mean with the silent s? Yup! And yeahhh Vaati has everything imaginable against him. Link unfortunately doesn't mean to be selfish: he truly thinks he's doing the right thing. Even though we have perspective on what happened at the Palace of Winds, the only thing everyone else knows is how Zelda was kidnapped by an evil sorcerer who unleashed a bunch of monsters on Hyrule, and then she inexplicably comes back in love with the kidnapper. To everyone else, it makes no sense without the "she was cursed" theory :(  
>Roland seems suspicious, huh? Vaati sure thinks so! As for the culprit being someone we've already met... I'll say that everyone we've met so far is integral to the story in some way ;)<p> 


	10. RSVP

fleets: ffff a bunch of personal stuff is making me feel antsy right now so I'll just drop this here and be on my way D:  
>That said, I really really really REALLY do appreciate all of the support everyone has been sending my way, because I was a wreck last week and needed it<p>

OH also! The Four Sword Links, Red, Blue, Green and Vio return in this chapter. Like in Rend, I've based them off of the manga interpretation of the characters ;)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10: RSVP<strong>

Zelda sighed heavily as she took care of the last victim to the plague, now encased in a stasis crystal. It had been a week since she'd sent Link on his quest with Elise to temper the Four Sword and defeat Vaati for good, and a week had passed since she'd had no word from him. No doubt he was busy, and he would be roaming places where the couriers wouldn't be able to reach him. All she could do now was to pray he was safe, and was making progress. She looked around again at the rows and rows of stasis crystals that filled the once-empty classrooms, and the various family members who'd come to visit their affected loved ones. Most of them were parents or grandparents praying with tear stained faces over their children and spouses, since the ones who'd been affected were all mixed-blood Hylians. It was a sorry sight: Hyrule wouldn't be able to handle this for too long.

"Princess."

An elderly woman approached Zelda – she noticed it as one of the visitors who'd lost her children and grandchildren to the plague. Extra wrinkles creased her face from worry, and she leaned against her walking cane heavily. "I wanted to thank you, for coming here today," the woman said in a shaky voice, "it's nice to see that the palace still cares about us, even after all of those nasty rumors about."

Zelda nodded, not sure of what to say. Then, she couldn't help but wonder about something the old lady had mentioned. "Nasty rumors?" Zelda frowned a little, wondering if she'd just started a conversation that she probably didn't want to know about.

"Oh, it's okay," the old lady reassured, patting the princess's hand, "we all know those rumors aren't true. They used to say that awful sorcerer turned you into a terrible witch who let monsters loose in the kingdom!" The old lady didn't seem to notice Zelda look down at her feet worriedly, "Well, you're not cursed anymore, princess. I believe we'll see Hyrule free from monsters and that terrible sorcerer soon enough, and my daughter and grandchildren will wake up again…"

"Yes," Zelda said uncertainly. Yes, this wasn't exactly a conversation she'd meant to start, but that's what she got for being curious, she supposed. Every night she would stay awake until well past midnight, thinking about what had really happened the past year, wondering if she'd made the right choice. She tried not to think about how horrible her rule must have been, if there were such nasty rumors about her.

The old lady's voice brought her back out of her thoughts. "Sometimes I think I must be seeing things, missing my family too much. Just last night, someone put out more logs for the fireplace for me, just like my grandchildren used to do whenever they visited, to keep my house warm on cold days. It's hard for an old woman like me to carry those heavy things, you see," the lady said, "But I definitely must have imagined it since I live all alone now," she added sadly, waving her cane towards her relatives lying peacefully in the crystals.

Zelda watched quietly as the old lady left the premises. The old lady was completely unaware that the princess was deeply troubled by everything that was going on. That's how it always seemed, though. No one really knew that there were days when she wanted to scream and throw a fit because of the troubles in her kingdom, because it was her responsibility to look fine. Wasn't it? If she didn't keep the appearance that everything was going to be okay, then no one would be able to believe it. No one would be able to keep going, because the princess herself had given up. No matter what happened, she had to pretend that everything was okay.

"Impa," Zelda addressed her stoically calm guardian when she approached, "I've been thinking about whether or not to cancel the annual charity masquerade in light of the plague, and the fact that a potentially dangerous sorcerer is on the loose," she added, her frown deepening. "It was scheduled to be held next week, and the usual invites expect it to still happen but…" Zelda trailed off thoughtfully.

Impa surveyed the rows and rows of static crystals, each one holding a victim. "It might be wise not to hold it this year," the guardian agreed.

Zelda shook her head. "No, I was thinking the opposite." When Impa looked at her in surprise, Zelda explained, "The masquerade ball is something we've been doing every year. The people need a sense of normalcy."

Impa seemed uncertain. "But…"

"I understand that it might be dangerous," Zelda nodded, "but if we don't do this then it's a disservice to my people who still believe that we know what we're doing."

Impa returned a worried, but understanding smile. She wasn't going to be able to argue the princess out of this. It was her job to protect the princess at all costs – if Zelda wanted the masquerade to be a success, then she would do whatever it took to help her. "Yes princess."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Link leaned against a rock, his breath coming heavily and sweat rolling down his face. Next to him, there were four others just like him. More accurately, it should be said that Green was the one who was leaning against a rock, and Red, Blue, and Vio were all resting after the fight against the monster of the desert, Lanmola. They'd managed to infiltrate the desert temple with the help of Elise, and were currently trying to find one of the elements that would allow him to upgrade the Four Sword. He never thought he'd ever pull the Four Sword again to adventure with the others… er, or should he say himself? Ugh it was too confusing.

Green sighed. He was supposed to be helping the Smith right now, learning tricks about smithing and helping the guards. He wasn't supposed to be running around Hyrule again, trying to find a way to defeat Vaati. The weight of the legendary sword was heavy in his hands. At least if they succeeded this time then they might be able to say that it was really over.

Red was cheerful as always, despite the situation. For some reason, whenever he split into his four 'selves,' it seemed like different aspects of his personality became magnified. Like, Red was the cheerful and optimistic one, almost to a fault. Blue was gutsy, hot-headed, and brash, almost to a fault. Vio was cool, analytical and the absolute best at solving puzzles, but he also came off as uncaring and cynical. And then there was Green. Green was the one who somehow managed to keep the other three together. In all honesty, he didn't know what would happen if he wasn't there, since they never seemed to be able to focus on anything without him.

"You did really well, Elise!" Green heard Red say encouragingly. The boy in red brushed the sand off of his tunic as he walked up to the White Maiden. "That was your first boss battle!"

Elise barely had a scratch on her. The white robes she'd traded out with her dress for the adventure was still clean without the hint of dirt or blood. The priestess scratched her head bashfully. "Aaaah I was so scared!" She ran up to the other three while trying not to trip over the carcass of the enormous desert worm. The priestess gave a disgusted squeal when she accidentally stepped on one of its many legs, and hurriedly ran towards the Links.

Vio snorted, but couldn't hide his grin. Elise was easily terrified, especially by monsters, and in the beginning they'd been worried she'd be more of a nuisance than actual help. What they'd quickly learned was that even though she tended to scream at the first sign of a monster, she was actually pretty terrifying herself with her light magic. She could instantly purge minor monsters with her magic burst, and had the ability to shield allies. Zelda was right: Elise could handle herself despite appearances. If Elise was this powerful, they couldn't help but wonder just how strong Zelda's light magic was.

In addition, she'd spoken true when she'd said she'd done some scouting for the location of the elements they were after, and she seemed to know most of the shortcuts around the dungeons. They would be able to collect all of them in no time, and sure enough, Elise found a glimmer in the sand close to where the Lanmola lay dead.

"All right! We're going to the mountains next!" Elise yelled excitedly. She punched her left hand in the air in a victory pose, the blue gleam of the element they'd found lighting up in her palm. Green gave a tired chuckle, and stood up. It seemed like he wasn't the only one who wanted to see this end for good, so they could go back to their lives again. Still, there was a thought that wouldn't leave him alone. Zelda's voice echoed in his head.

_If I invite you again this year, will you come?_

He glanced over towards Blue, who was looking at him knowingly. Vio and Red, too. It appeared everyone had the same thoughts. They'd left Zelda with a promise that he'd go to the charity masquerade like past years, when she'd been worried he wouldn't show up. He didn't expect Elise to understand why he wanted to go, but he had to say it.

"Hey Elise," Blue spoke up, being the boldest out of the four. "Do you think we could stop at Hyrule again?" Next to him, Red was grinning in a troubled way, and both Vio and Green flinched at the question.

Elise's hands dropped down slowly, and then she looked at them in confusion. "What for?"

"Er, well it's just we promised the princess that-" Blue looked at the others for help. His boldness had run out.

With almost frightening abruptness, Elise's tone turned sharp and demanding. "If this is about that charity masquerade," she began coldly.

"It is," Red supplied apologetically. He winced when Elise snapped back.

"Absolutely not!" The White Maiden stomped towards them angrily. She grabbed Green by the collar, surprising everyone with her forcefulness, which was nothing at all like the delicate maiden image she'd had only moments before. "What do you think Zelda would say if you show up to the ball? We are the only ones who can defeat Vaati, and the entire fate of Hyrule rests in our hands! She'll think of you as a lazy idiot if you went back just to _dance_. Ugh!" She released her hold on the startled Green, and then began to walk towards the dungeon exit purposefully. "Do you really think you can win her heart like that? This is exactly why she ended up favoring Vaati!"

_Why do you care?_ Green thought, annoyed, as he rubbed his neck where Elise had yanked him. His earlier good mood for defeating the Lanmola had vanished. Sure, she had a point and everything, but did she have to be so rude about it? The fact that she made it seem like all he cared about was to get Zelda to like him was just… Well sure he'd always liked her but –

"What are thinking about, Vio?"

Green caught Red whispering towards the Link in purple. The boy in question had a funny look on his face as he watched Elise's retreating back. Vio's eyes narrowed, but then he shook his head and dismissed Red. "It's nothing."

Green shot a questioning look towards Vio. Red shrugged and let it slide, but Green knew better. That look wasn't a look that said it was "nothing."

And indeed, it wasn't nothing. It was more like an instinct, that Vio knew that this exchange with Elise wasn't all that it seemed. Vio wasn't even sure if he knew what he meant by that. All he could say was that… it was a feeling. Was it something she'd said? Her overreaction? There was more to Elise than her hatred of monsters, but exactly what that was, he didn't know. And when he didn't know, he couldn't say anything. He wasn't the type of person to spread rumors, after all.

Still, he waited until Red and Blue had walked on ahead to follow the White Maiden. He walked towards Green and put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "Let's keep an eye on her," he said in a low voice.

"What?" Green pulled away from Vio in surprise. "Why?"

Vio shook his head. "You noticed," he said after a while. "that I didn't mean 'nothing' when I said 'nothing.'" And without much more explanation, he left Green standing behind, his mouth open in surprise.

XXXXXXXXXX

Maribel nervously watched Vaati pacing the great hall of the Palace of Winds. She and several sentries had been summoned, and for the past ten minutes or so Vaati hadn't explained why he'd summoned her specifically. She had a bad feeling about it, since it was almost never a good sign whenever Vaati was pacing like that.

Suddenly, he stopped, and he said nothing for several excruciating seconds. Out of nervousness, Maribel wanted to ask if anything was wrong, but she also knew that there was a high probability of making him mad if she said anything out of turn. Mercifully, the sorcerer finally muttered something under his breath.

"No good," he said. "I can't see her without having her alert the guards or that Sheikah. It's no good."

"Why not, my Lord?" she asked boldly, finally understanding what this was about. "Surely you can just warp to her room and- "Maribel shut up immediately when she saw Vaati glaring at her in the most frightening way.

"Then she won't _listen," _Vaati growled, "do you know how difficult it is to force someone to drink something? I don't intend to visit that wizzrobe again, so I have no room for error." He tossed the small bottle with the cure in the air, before catching it in his hands again.

The ghost sighed along with her master dejectedly, feeling like a failure. The other sentry eyes appeared to share her sentiment, and they were all hovering close to the floor dejectedly.

"So you really couldn't find any other opportunity to reach the princess?" Vaati repeated. They'd already informed him repeatedly what they'd found, but it seemed the sorcerer wasn't ready to believe them. He swatted away one of the sentry eyes that had tried to send it a telepathic image of its response, and then Maribel fidgeted somewhat when he stared at her expectantly.

"The princess is heavily guarded," the poe explained. "There is someone keeping watch of her movements at all times, usually her guardian, and it's been difficult enough just to keep tabs on her movements without getting caught."

"And you're saying there's no opportunity to slip the cure into her drink without her knowing?" Vaati insisted. He gritted his teeth when Maribel shook her head.

"No. Anything on her plate is checked by the guardian first. The only opportunity is for Lord Vaati to perhaps disguise as one of the princess's maids and-"

"Forget it," Vaati cut Maribel off severely.

"But it could work," the poe muttered under her breath, low enough so that he couldn't hear. The ghost watched the sorcerer begin to pace again, his strides hitting the floor with impatience. Maribel wracked her head for any useful information that Lord Vaati might be able to use, but she couldn't think of anything. The castle was heavily guarded, and she and the other sentry eyes and other poes and ghinis had made countless rounds around Hyrule, memorizing the guards' schedules and the princess's pattern of movement. If they couldn't think of something soon then-

"Aaa_aaugggh! Why are you all so useless?_!" Black tendrils whipped around the sorcerer angrily, and Maribel and the sentries scurried away from the furious demon eye that emerged from the shadows.

_Yeah… that,_ Maribel thought, peeking around from behind one of the pillars. It wasn't a good day for anyone whenever Vaati decided to rage in his demon eye form. It usually meant he was going to break something, including monsters around him.

There was a loud bang when Vaati smashed his claw onto the floor. There was also one sentry eye missing from the vicinity, and Maribel could guess what had happened.

Vaati's eye glared daggers at his claw where the sentry had been smashed against the floor. "_You're suggesting I go to a BALL in this situation? What kind of a fool do you take me for?"_

Maribel rolled her eyes. What a stupid sentry. However, she remembered something at the mention of a ball. "Oh! Lord Vaati, there's a masquerade ball-" the poe froze when the eye swiveled towards her menacingly.

"_Am I surrounded by idiots?"_ Vaati growled. He glared at the poe whose lantern was clattering because of her shaking hands. The demon eye appeared to consider whether or not to smash the poe, too, but something occurred to him and his eye widened a little. "_You said a masquerade… ball?"_ he asked tentatively.

Relieved that Vaati seemed willing to listen rather than smash her through the floor, Maribel nodded slowly and continued where she left off. "The princess is planning to hold the annual masquerade charity ball in a week."

The poe played with her fingers nervously as Vaati continued to stare at her for a while. It was difficult to read his expression, and Maribel tried not to wonder if he might change his mind about not attacking her. Finally, they were all given an opportunity to ease themselves when the demon eye turned around and floated a few feet away. The wind mage clicked his claws together thoughtfully as he looked out towards the sky.

"_This might work,"_ he said to himself, musing, "_This might just work."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A week later, the night was cloudless and clear, the stars glittering above like fairy dust. There was a slight nip in the air from the fall chill, but it wasn't unpleasant and it was actually perfect for the masquerade ball where everyone wore concealing clothes. Despite the situation with the plague, there was a lively atmosphere around the castle for once and various nobles from across Hyrule were already gathering around the gates to be let through. The money raised from the attendees would go towards the relief effort for those affected by the plague, and it brought a sense of camaraderie to the nobles who weren't always friendly with each other. For now, it seemed as though holding the charity masquerade had been a sound idea.

Most of the crowd had arrived, and the ones coming now were the late stragglers. One of them, a nobleman in a gold suit with a full-face white mask covering his face, walked slightly out of breath just before the gates. He waited for a few minutes until his breathing was back to normal; it wouldn't do for him to appear at the ball like he'd rushed to get there.

"Excuse me," someone tapped his shoulder. Startled, the man whirled around and came face to face with another man who appeared to be on his way to the charity masquerade. The stranger was a bit shorter than him, and was wearing a silver mask with sequined eye-symbols that completely hid his face. He was dressed in a flamboyant purple and gold, fitting the occasion, and the man couldn't even tell what color hair the stranger had because of a trailing purple cap that covered his head. Some people came to the masquerade to mingle without being recognized.

"Good evening, sir," the man replied, trying to be friendly. "Did you just arrive here?"

The stranger ignored the question rudely, and asked abruptly, "Did you come alone?"

"Ah, unfortunately yes beca-"

The man didn't get to finish his sentence, because as soon as he confirmed that he'd come alone, the stranger dashed forward with frightening speed and aimed a clawed hand towards the other man's head. His huge, shadowy claws connected with a thud, and the poor man was knocked out cold. Before the guards or anyone else noticed that a man had just been attacked, the body was dragged behind some bushes, out of sight.

Vaati rummaged around the unconscious man's coat pocket, and then pulled out an invitation to the masquerade ball. "Lord Nesbitt, hmm?" Vaati read aloud. Then, he folded the invitation and placed it inside his own jacket pocket. He snapped his fingers, and Maribel materialized in the air, along with a ghini that had been invisible earlier. They both held ropes, and the proceeded to bind the victim's wrists and ankles so that he wouldn't be able to run anywhere, as well as a gag so that he wouldn't create noise. A sneer behind his mask, Vaati strode over to the gates where people were gathering to present their invitation. He was the new Lord Nesbitt for tonight.

A small glass bottle with clear liquid rolled around in one of his pockets. Perhaps he'd be able to invite the princess for a drink tonight.

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><p>fleets: Set-up chapter, so not that exciting, but had to be done. Everything mentioned in this chapter is relevant in the future, you'll see. And ahhh I know, I know. The whole 'mysterious man meets Juliet at a ball' is probably overdone and cliche, but it's the first thing that comes to my mind in a romance genre :P<p>

Someone also suggested this belongs in the Mystery genre rather than Adventure. I admit I wasn't very confident that I could bring together everything needed for a true Mystery genre label, but now that the story is progressing it doesn't really have the elements of Adventure... I'll change it to Mystery (or any other genre or lack of genre) depending on one or two more opinions about it :D

Also I am endlessly amused by everyone's guessing on what's really going on in this story, and because I can't really reply back honestly without ruining the ending I'm going to be giving meaningless comments where I wonder along with you :P Please forgive XD (I really do enjoy your guesses so far though haha)

**Flufux: **Roland involved, but not the main, eh? Interesting ;)

**MasterShortPantsx3: **Vaati seems to have an idea about giving the cure - maybe we can see Zelda get her memories back soon...?

**GamerxOtaku: **Haha awww thank you! That's a lot of chapters you read :O Aaaaah thank you so much, I'm glad you liked them, and Thistle too! omg

**Ki: **Roland or Impa, hmm? It's pretty narrowed down now! Who will it be? And yup! I intended to include a mention of the Links and Elise here, and we can start seeing what Elise is like. And ffff I definitely know what you mean about the stress :( No problem! And ahhhh I REALLY didn't want Bates to die since he grew on me so I had to give him and Dark a happy ending! Thank you thank you thank you I really enjoy reading your responses they make my day a hundred million times better :D

**Mage Vaati: **Oh don't we all miss Bates... Hmmm is Link involved or isn't he... ;)  
>hahaha I would be way too scared to take that chance (my teachers were always scary)<p>

**Lord Siravant: **It does seem odd he would do that, doesn't it, since he seemed pretty mellow? Wonder what's going on there ;)

**Dia Newman: **A conspiracy oh my :O And errr hope your kitty was alright

**Cutiecat: **It seems like he's going to try to disguise his way to Zelda, but I wonder how well that's going to work out...

**LovelyKiridia: **Haha yeah so I told myself, even though I do like Vaati as a villain, I just can't write a true romance if he's a horrible human being because it goes against my core beliefs too much. Eh, I guess I kind of wrote him a hero in Rend, too, even though there was no romance there. Maybe I just can't write protags as truly horrible people (I know some stories that can pull that off, but I don't think I have the guts to do it).  
>Hmmm, Roland being framed too? That leaves a lot more possibilities open hMMMM<p>

**eureka93: **I've seen a few fan interpretations around here and deviantart and tumblr about how old habits die hard, and I really liked it. :)  
>It seems like they might meet soon! At least he has some kind of plan now. (bows low) your highness I bring you the latest chapter at your command. :P<p>

**Peregrine: **A bird of prey username, hmm? I'm a fan!  
>Erm, hope that didn't scare you off hehe. Hatchet time, storm the castle! And thanks for the review :D I'll definitely consider Mystery! I've been wondering about it myself, and I'll definitely change it if I have another suggestion to do so :)<p> 


	11. A Night to Remember

fleets: hiya i've been stuck in a small windowless lab room for 8 hours a day with nothing to do except work on this, so yay updates.

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><p><strong>Chapter 11: A Night to Remember<strong>

Zelda was enjoying herself. Or, at least, she was trying to. It wasn't that the masquerade was boring or that it wasn't fun, because it was. Masking their faces, it was one of the few times where the nobles could loosen up a little, not having to think about who they might offend or what reputation they would have to scramble to save. Even if someone _were_ recognized, there was an unspoken agreement among everyone tonight that no one would speak a word of it in the morning.

The princess was dancing with a stranger who had offered her his hand. She wasn't sure if he recognized her: she was wearing a silver and white feathered mask that covered everything but her lips, and her red blond hair was piled on her head in sequins and feathers. The stranger twirled her around, and they exchanged pleasant smiles, but Zelda's thoughts were elsewhere. Every year, Link would appear at her request, and somehow he'd find her amongst the dozens of people at the ball. And although he was disguised as well, she always knew who he was, and they would sneak out to somewhere quiet, away from the crowd.

He wasn't going to appear this year… was he? He was away, fighting through dungeons to find a way to defeat Vaati. As much as she wanted him to appear and take her away from here, she was alone this time. She felt like a terrible host for continuing to glance at the clock, wondering how many more minutes she would have to mingle with strangers for the charity. It wasn't that she didn't like parties and dances – it was that she was actually pretty shy and introverted, and didn't at all like crowds. Not many people would have guessed that she wasn't a "people-person," but that was just another thing she'd learned to put up with for the sake of being a princess. Sometimes she wasn't sure if she was cut for this sort of thing, and Link was the one who helped her keep it together when she was ready to toss responsibility out the window.

"A dance, my lady?"

Zelda looked up with a start, and she felt someone hook their arm around her elbow and pull her away from her current dance partner. She wasn't sure who this person was, as he had his face concealed completely with a silver mask and his purple and gold clothes revealed no skin. The stranger she'd been dancing with had been rudely pushed aside, but when he walked towards the newcomer indignantly he was suddenly stopped. Zelda couldn't really see what had happened from her angle, but from the way he backed away somewhat nervously she guessed that the newcomer had given him quite a mean look…

_Link?_ her mind immediately thought, but then another thought told her no, this wasn't exactly how Link usually pulled her aside. There was something about this newcomer that made her feel threatened somehow. Like he was more than willing to destroy anything that got in his way.

Before she could step back and excuse herself, the stranger took one hand in his and pushed her close to him with an arm around her waist. She looked up at masked stranger's face, and she stiffened when she caught a glimpse of his eyes. They flashed crimson. She'd seen those eyes before.

"You-!" She flinched backwards, but the hand that held her tightened its hold, preventing her from pushing away.

"Ah, ah. Don't say a word, princess. Just enjoy this dance with me," Vaati smirked, speaking in a low voice close to her ear. He yanked her towards him so that they looked like they were dancing and that there was nothing suspicious going on. "And don't even think about alerting your guardian," he nodded towards Impa who was surveying the ball from the upper levels, "If I even suspect that you're going to try something then I won't hesitate to turn everyone here to stone. Let's avoid making a scene, shall we?"

Zelda grimaced, and she couldn't help but look around at all of the people at the ball. This was supposed to be an event that hoped to assuage people's fears about the state of Hyrule if only for a night, and she couldn't have it ruined by Vaati. "What do you want?" she whispered sharply as they circled past another couple. Her steps stiff and unrelaxed, the princess tripped a little. The sorcerer caught her gently, and the princess was red in embarrassment and indignation: she was glad that her mask covered the flush of her cheeks.

"Would you believe me if I said I wanted a dance?" Vaati snickered, amused.

The string quartet switched to a lively tune, and Vaati took the opportunity to swing the surprised princess around in a small circle. Her movements were unnatural and stiff because she was still wary of what he was up to, but he somehow navigated her through the crowd without having her trip over her feet. She grudgingly admitted that he wasn't a bad lead. Dancing was half skill and half confidence, and when it came to confidence she figured the sorcerer could do with less of it. Zelda frowned, and then purposely dug her heel into the floor so that both of them would stumble.

Vaati sighed, and then ushered her away from the stares and chuckles from the people around them. "I know you're not _this_ bad at dancing, princess. You're doing it on purpose."

"If you're going to complain then leave me alone!" Zelda hissed under her breath.

"Hmm, I think fifty or so new, well dressed statues would look pretty nice here, don't you think?"

Zelda muttered some unlady-like things in a low tone, and allowed Vaati to dance with her again. While they danced awkwardly, the princess continued to look through the sea of faces, hoping that by some miracle Link would be there.

"He isn't going to come for you, not this time," Vaati read her mind, causing her to jolt in surprise. His tone turned menacing, completely different from his earlier, careless demeanor. He pushed her away briefly, like it was part of the dance, but his intent was so that she would be forced to look at his face. "He is too much like you," Vaati said icily, and Zelda could only imagine how terrifying an expression he wore under the mask, "he will put his responsibilities above everything else."

For a brief moment, Zelda was actually frightened. The way that Vaati spoke about Link made him sound like he was about to snap, and it was difficult to tell whether he was angry at Link or angry at her… The princess froze mid-step, but before she could think of what to do, Vaati had swung her around again so that their bodies were almost touching. Her thoughts that had earlier wandered to Link vanished out of surprise. It was very difficult to think of anything else except the sorcerer's breath on her neck. "My responsibility is you, and I won't let anyone get in my way."

And then, almost like he'd said nothing out of the ordinary and that the princess wasn't looking up at him wide-eyed in shock, Vaati ordered, "Now why don't you look like you're having a good time before that guard dog of yours realizes something is wrong?" Vaati said it casually, like he was telling her about his day.

Zelda blinked. Then, she glanced up to where Impa was watching the ball. If the Sheikah suspected anything, then Vaati was going to turn all of the visitors to stone. The princess scowled briefly before she plastered on a fake smile. The steely glint in her eyes was hidden by her mask, but she made sure to dig her nails in a little deeper in Vaati's shoulders. They danced for the rest of the song like this in a somewhat awkward, rigid manner, but Zelda was no longer sabotaging Vaati's efforts. Impa eventually turned her attention elsewhere, and the sorcerer grinned behind his mask. Zelda noticed he was slowly maneuvering her away from the general crowd, and towards the balcony.

"Where are you taking me?_!"_ she cried, but then stopped herself short when the sorcerer shot her a warning glare. Lowering her voice, she repeated, "Where are you taking me?"

"It's a little too crowded here for my liking," Vaati replied. He noticed the princess giving him a distraught look, so added with an annoyed edge in his voice, "It's either a dance, or I'm going to turn everyone into statues and then drop them off a cliff. Your choice, princess."

Recognizing that she didn't have much of a choice, Zelda decided to yield. She kept a cautious eye on him, but allowed him to lead her out to the balcony where they could be alone. She still couldn't figure out what the sorcerer's plans were, but for now it didn't seem like he wanted to threaten her people.

Zelda screamed when she was suddenly thrown up into the sky, but the winds muffled her cries. She watched helplessly as Hyrule became farther and farther away until it was nothing but a flicker of lights in the distance. A cool chill hit her cheeks as they broke through the clouds. She dared to glance down at her feet, and noticed for the first time just how high up from the ground they were. Then, she noticed she had been holding on to Vaati tightly out of fear of falling. With a look of disgust she pushed him away, only to find herself falling, causing her to grab on to him again tightly. Frustrated, she resorted to giving him an unamused glare.

Vaati rolled his eyes. Then, he took her by the waist and tossed her a few feet away.

"AIEEEEEEeeee… huh?" Zelda blinked, stopping mid-scream. She'd been convinced a few seconds ago that Vaati had decided to kill her, letting her fall to her death. Instead, she found herself sitting on top of a cloud, away from Vaati and at the same time safe from falling. The cloud was soft like cotton, and cool to the touch: she'd heard about such things existing in the Palace of Winds, but she'd never seen it herself. Er, at least she didn't remember it. She glanced up at the sorcerer, and then frowned when she noticed him laughing at her.

Vaati floated over, chuckling. "Don't give me that look. I'm not going to hurt you."

Annoyed that Vaati had given her a scare, she shot huffily, "You're the vile sorcerer from legend and you expect me to believe you?"

Vaati stopped laughing, and Zelda shrunk back, worried that she might have pushed him too far. She noticed his hands clench tightly, and he lowered his head ever so slightly. She still didn't know what would happen if she made him really angry. She shrunk backwards when he hovered closer slowly.

He raised his hand, and she flinched back, afraid that he might hit her. When nothing happened for a few seconds, she dared to open her eyes, peering cautiously at the gloved hand that was being offered to her. "One dance," Vaati said.

Zelda was still where she sat, her hands on her lap and her silvery white dress spilling over her knees. She looked back over her shoulder where Hyrule's lights were glowing far in the distance.

"No one has to know."

Zelda turned away from the lights of her kingdom. It was almost like he knew what she'd been thinking. She glanced at the offered hand again, and she couldn't help but wonder why. Why was Vaati doing this?

Without another word, the princess slowly stood up and took Vaati's hand hesitantly. Their fingers entwined, but it wasn't in that antagonistic way from earlier, with her nails digging into his hand and his fingers latching on to hers forcefully like she was his prisoner. It was natural and forgiving, like this was how things were supposed to be. The sky was quiet, up above the clouds. It was also surreal, floating miles above the ground and stepping in time to some soundless song. It was all so ridiculous, Zelda thought, and she couldn't imagine what Vaati could possibly gain from this. She eyed him in suspicion, but it was hard to see his expression since it was hidden by his masquerade mask.

Suddenly, her ears caught a faint tinkle in the breeze, and then she noticed that it was actually… music. It was the silvery sound of bells creating a tender nocturne. Something glimmered over her head, reflecting the moon's yellow glow. Wind chimes hovered in the air, ringing softly as the wind moved through them.

_Ah…_

She glanced at the sorcerer. Did she imagine it? She thought she saw him glance at her but now he was avoiding her gaze. Why? She searched his face but the mask was in the way. She couldn't help but think about how angry he looked when she'd called him the vile sorcerer – did that affect him so? High up above the clouds with the music from the wind chimes, she thought this was familiar, somehow. It was almost like a feeling that this had happened before, but it escaped her memory. Maybe it was from a dream she'd forgotten, she couldn't tell.

The fingers that rested on the sorcerer's shoulders relaxed, and the princess's steps were no longer rigid and awkward. She'd been here before, even though she couldn't remember it. She'd danced with someone, high above the clouds with the wind chimes playing a crystal tune. She still kept a cautious distance from the sorcerer, but the distance had closed since the time she'd first met him earlier tonight.

Maybe it had been a dream, when she'd danced with someone in the sky. It must have been a nice one: pleasant dreams were oft forgotten. They danced wordlessly until the music faded, floating through the clouds like two spirits that weren't affected by the world around them. When the music ended, Zelda lowered her hands, but didn't immediately pull away from Vaati like she would have done before.

"Would you like a drink, princess?" Vaati asked, pulling out a glass of wine from midair. The princess stirred at the sound of his voice, and then she shook her head.

"No thank you."

"How about a toast for peace," Vaati insisted, offering her the glass. The off-white liquid sparkled under the stars, "between myself and your kingdom? I won't lay a hand on it."

Zelda shook her head again. "No."

"Why not?"

Whatever pleasant atmosphere that had developed between them began to crumble, and Vaati couldn't hide the irritated tremor in his voice. Zelda didn't fail to notice it, either, and in response her shoulders stiffened slightly, defensively.

"It is unwise for a princess to take drinks from strangers," she explained. She returned a cool gaze, as though she were explaining the most obvious thing in the world.

"You really think I'm going to poison you…" Vaati sighed exasperatedly.

"I don't trust you one bit, Vaati."

There it was again, that hesitation from Vaati like he'd just been slapped in the face. His airy attitude vanished and his fingers twitched. A pang of guilt weighed heavy in Zelda's chest, when she thought she could imagine that same look of shock she'd seen when she'd first seen Vaati in her room.

_Who are you?_

The princess didn't have much time to think about this, however, because after a few seconds the sorcerer whirled around, his free hand open wide demonstratively. "Fine! I'll drink half and prove that I didn't do anything to it! Then you have to drink the rest!" he snapped irritably.

Zelda raised an eyebrow, and then leaned forward to look at the glass of wine more closely. "… Why do you want me to take a drink so badly?" she asked, but Vaati refused to give her a straight answer.

"Didn't you want peace for Hyrule?" he looked like he was about to throw a tantrum. Zelda probably would have considered drinking it, if she'd gotten him to explain the situation better, but the sorcerer was so upset that he took a swig before the princess could stop him. He pushed his mask away from his face, and the glass touched his lips. Apparently the drink was bitter, or tasted extremely unpleasant, because the wind mage coughed and spluttered after drinking the 'wine.' He looked up from the sleeve he was coughing into momentarily, as though to say something, but another coughing fit interrupted him. Still, he was especially careful not to let any of the wine spill. Eventually, he recovered his composure and pushed the drink into the princess's hands. "Now take it."

Zelda looked at the winded sorcerer blankly, and then she giggled until it turned to laughter. She'd never imagined Vaati to be so childishly serious about something like this before. It was obvious that something had been done to the wine, and that it wasn't _just_ wine in the glass, and all logic told her that she shouldn't take a single sip of whatever it was that Vaati was offering. At the same time, there was something about how Vaati would go to such lengths as to humiliate himself that made Zelda wonder if she could give him a chance on this. She knew it was stupid to agree to his terms, and that she should just flip the glass upside down and pour away the wine.

She knew how she'd already given him a chance, when she'd asked him to stay in the dungeons for a few days until she figured out what was going on. He'd broken her trust then. There was no solid evidence that she would be able to trust him again, so why was she thinking about giving him yet another chance?

Zelda eyed the drink in her hands uncertainly, but after a few seconds she slowly brought the glass to her lips. Despite logic screaming at her that this was a terrible idea, she took a drink anyway.

The taste surprised her, and when the liquid touched her tongue it immediately hit her with incredible sourness, like she was drinking concentrated lemon-juice. She involuntarily spat some of it out, coughing like Vaati had done, but then the initial tartness vanished and she was able to finish most of it. At the end of it all she gave Vaati a grimaced, "there, happy?" look and tossed the empty glass towards him while trying to ignore the lingering puckering sourness. "That was the worst glass of wine I've ever had," she said.

Vaati wasn't really paying much attention to Zelda's unhappy expression anymore, however, and was looking at her hopefully like he expected something to happen. He dropped the empty glass that he'd caught from Zelda, and he watched her expectantly, like she was supposed to say something enlightening. After some time, Zelda sighed loudly and crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, so I know you did something to the wine, but what was supposed to happen?"

The hopeful glimmer behind the mask began to dim. "Er, so you still don't remember anything?" Vaati asked, and his hands unconsciously pulled back towards him in nervous fists like he was preparing for the worst. When Zelda shook her head, confused as to what he might mean, he threw his hands out exasperatedly. He was suddenly angry again, it seemed, but the anger wasn't directed at anyone in particular. Perhaps it was directed at himself, for giving into false hope. "It didn't work," he spat, turning away from the puzzled princess.

Zelda stared at Vaati's back. His shoulders had slumped a little, and it seemed like all of that mischievous energy that he'd had throughout the entire night had dissipated. "What was supposed to happen?" she asked, stepping forward on the cloud she was standing on until she was on the edge. Vaati, however, was floating several paces out of reach like she was too much to bear.

"It doesn't matter," he said definitively, still with his back turned. "You don't remember anything anyway," he added accusingly. His words were perhaps more acidic than he'd meant them to be, but in his own distress he'd forgotten how to keep up his gentleman act. His anger had shifted, and now they were onto her. Zelda recoiled at his words and looked down guiltily, still unsure why she should even feel guilty, but guilty none the same.

"Vaati," she finally called. When he tilted his head towards her slightly with a cold eye she hesitated. "What happened… this past year?" She saw his eyes narrow as they turned away from her again, but it was impossible to see just what kind of expression he wore behind the masquerade mask. He said nothing, ignoring her. The mask bothered her now, like it was keeping her from seeing the truth. She reached out a hand towards him cautiously. "Can you take off your mask?"

His reply was immediate. "No."

"I want to see your fac-"

"_No,_" he growled with such menace and anger that it quieted her down immediately. Zelda's hand shrunk back, confused why he seemed so angry at her all of a sudden and what her crime had been. She so badly wanted to understand, now. She'd known all along that she hadn't given him a fair chance to explain himself because they'd all been afraid of the infamous wind mage, but now…

Something wasn't quite right with all of this. The story of how Vaati had cursed her for his own greed for power didn't add up, and it was too difficult to ignore that something wasn't right. She couldn't understand what was actually going on unless the sorcerer himself explained it to her.

"It doesn't matter anymore," Vaati brushed her off, ending whatever conversation the princess would have started with a wave of his hand, "there's no use explaining."

"But-"

"There's nothing to explain." He flew over to her, taking her by the hand and started to fly down towards the castle. He seemed to be in a hurry to leave this place as though he couldn't stand another second of being around her. The last thing Zelda had wanted at the beginning of the night was to talk to Vaati, but now all she wanted was for him to say something. It was too late, now. Vaati was of no mind to listen. He was too angry to listen.

"At least tell me why you left the castle when I asked you to stay," the princess insisted. "I wanted to trust you," she said in a last ditch plea for him to give her some kind of information.

The ball was still happening like they'd never left when Vaati finally set her back down on the balcony. The sorcerer hopped back up on the ledge, ready to leave the night behind. Just when Zelda was sure that he would leave without telling her anything, he stopped, and spoke in a low voice that was barely audible enough to catch amidst the music from the strings. "Why don't you ask that Sheikah of yours about it, then?" he murmured, and then vanished without another word.

Zelda stared at the empty space where Vaati had been, trying to take in everything that had just happened. What could he have meant, when he told her to talk to Impa? Why had he been here, and what had he expected would happen? What was she supposed to remember?

Nothing made sense. All she knew was that somehow, she'd angered him and she didn't know why. Now that he was gone, the visitor in purple and gold with his face concealed by a silver mask seemed like nothing more than a dream. Had Vaati actually been here, or had it been a stranger taking his place? He'd almost seemed like someone she could have gotten along with, and not at all like what others made him out to be. She recalled that one dance in the sky, with the wind chimes and their silver tones. If she closed her eyes it almost felt like she'd been there before…

A dream. Was it a dream? That familiar scene of her dancing with someone with the wind chimes in the background; was it just coincidence that it seemed so familiar?

It must have been a good dream, if she couldn't remember it.

If only she could remember it.

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><p>fleets: I may or may not have been listening to that Pompeii song by Bastille when I was writing this (seriously that song pops up every time on the radio I can't escape it).<br>And hahaa the cure didn't work?_!_ Is DesPonte in serious trouble now? Stay tuned :D

**Mage Vaati:** Yep, she checks the drinks, so Vaati tried to give Zelda a drink where Impa wouldn't be anywhere close. Unfortunately the princess knew all about party safety rules about taking drinks from suspicious people soooo yeah...

**Flufux: **Aw thanks! I'm happy to hear that you find his characterization interesting :) RSVP is shorthand for "please respond," usually written at the end of invitations. Apparently it's derived from French, which I didn't know about, so probably doesn't make much sense in the context of Hylian history haha

**Ki: **Ahhh well I wish it had been just about stress, which I've dealt with before, but it was a personal issue that was more like emotional wreckage... yeah...  
>But that's all over and done with now! Thank you so much for your nice messages they really helped me get through things :)<br>And haha yep you called it. It didn't exactly go according to Vaati's plan :P

**Guest: **Hide your face so the world will never find you!

**MasterShortPantsx3: **Aaaannd his plan kind of fell to pieces here.

**salmaawesome: **I changed it! :D

**Lord Siravant: ** Elise is actually a parody of sorts of some people in the zelda fandom (coughfandumbcough) and... well, you'll see what I mean eventually :P

**Spartan Yoshi 90: **I have a very weird mental image now and... well it's probably just me haha

**GamerxOtaku: **Vio is probably my favorite out of the 4 Links, and it probably has something to do with the color purple haha. Thanks, and I say hi to your sister too :D

**Aerois: **Haha don't worry about it :) I know how it is with real life (DO I EVER). Glad you like it so far! WIR was pretty popular so this has a big name to live up to... I think this was supposed to be a happy chapter but then something happened and it's not so happy anymore D:

**LovelyKiridia: **Hearts were (kind of) fluttering maybe?_!_ I really wanted to write fluffier this chapter, but it was so very hard to do with Zelda's initial bias that Vaati is a horrible human being and she can't be seen with him like that. I guess that was my way to 'avoid the cliche' maybe haha (that's an interesting thought, btw, about how many stories aren't original but just retold in different ways). But fear not, this is still a VaaZel I'll get there (someday oneday)!

**eureka93: **Another! I am a big fan of fancy balls, even though I've never been to one T_T One of these days! Thank you! I will try :D

**Dia Newman: **I'm better now thanks! Just having an emotional wreckage kind of week, but now I'm back to my generally happy self :D


	12. Rude Awakening

fleets: AUGHHHH I'm SO SORRY! I hope everyone's been having a fantastic summer :) The reason I haven't been active this summer is because I've been travelling a bunch, mostly having to do with surfing. What happens with this sport is usually you end up in a place with limited computer access, and if/when you do have it, you're too tired to do anything computer related.

At any rate, I haven't abandoned this story. My stories are my babies, and I will stay with them until they're all grown up :')  
>It's been a while since I've written anything, so I apologize if the quality has become downgraded compared to prior chapters D:<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 12: Rude Awakening<strong>

In the dark quiet hours of the night, an individual was woken from his sleep in the rudest way. DesPonte awoke to the sound of his door being blasted down, and the shattering of glassware and bottles crashing to the floor as the intruder barged his way towards the rug where the wizzrobe had been lying on. Before he knew what was happening, DesPonte felt himself roughly pulled up by the collar and face to face with Vaati, his face still covered by his masquerade mask which made him all the more terrifying. "You better have a good explanation for your failure," Vaati seethed, and the tone of his voice suggested that he was extremely close to ridding the world of the renegade wizzrobe.

DesPonte would have been fearful if he hadn't immediately fixated on a word he found extremely annoying. "Hmm failure? Whatever did I-"

"It didn't work, you idiot," Vaati snapped, cutting him off. When the wizzrobe stared at him blankly, confused at what the sorcerer was upset about, Vaati waved his hands exasperatedly, causing DesPonte to drop to the floor after suddenly being released. "The cure! It didn't work."

"Impossible!" DesPonte managed to splutter from where he'd collapsed. An indignant tone crawled into his voice at the risk of upsetting Vaati even further, but the wizzrobe didn't care. He spent months on his concoctions with a meticulousness bordering on obsession, and for someone to tell him that one of his potions was a failure was an insult to his craft. "It should have worked."

Vaati wasn't really known for being merciful to monsters, or anyone for that matter, and he didn't let DesPonte's tone go unpunished. There was a wince-inducing crash as Vaati summoned the chest in the corner of the room, turned it to stone, and dropped it on top of the wizzrobe. It landed on DesPonte with a terrible "crunch," and the wizzrobe gasped for air while at the same time calmly wondering aloud if his lungs were alright in true wizzrobe fashion. Helplessly pinned to the floor, DesPonte managed to stubbornly mutter how "it definitely should have worked," but his voice carried a bit of defeat, indicating he understood that there was no point arguing with a very angry wind mage. Especially when there was a stone block squishing him into the floor.

Vaati strode over in a single menacing step and placed his foot down on the wizzrobe's masked face. "She didn't remember a thing," he hissed, "I was made a fool." He grabbed his mask off of his face and threw it across the room where it shattered a window.

DesPonte peered past Vaati's sandals that crushed his mask into the floor, and his brows scrunched together as he tried to piece together what was going on. Finally, the wizzrobe, still from his uncomfortable position on the floor, dared to ask a question. "Hmm, hmm Lord Vaati did you wait for the effect to settle?" and then in a quieter voice he added, "I _did_ tell you it would work within the hour."

Some pressure lifted from his face when Vaati considered this point in awkward shock, and the wizzrobe gave a silent roll of his eyes. _Figures_, he thought to himself, but was aware of the situation enough that he didn't verbalize his vexation. He'd been around long enough in the world to know that pressing his luck with a very powerful wind mage just wasn't the best of ideas.

Vaati's brows dipped and arched as he slowly considered this piece of information, and there was a few long seconds of uncomfortable silence. DesPonte resisted the urge to cough. Finally, the sorcerer whirled around and made for the door abruptly.

"Lord Vaati! Please help me from under this block before you go!" DesPonte cried, sounding legitimately worried that he would be left stuck under the stone block. The wizzrobe stared at the door that slammed in his face, and listened forlornly at the empty howl of the wind as Vaati prepared to fly. He spent the next few minutes wondering just how he was going to get himself unstuck from under a very heavy stone block, until the wind outside suddenly calmed. Curious, the alchemist lifted his head and peered at the closed door, as though if he stared at it enough he could see what was going on outside. A few seconds later, and the door swung open with Vaati walking back inside, a black sentry eye fluttering just in front of the sorcerer's outstretched hand. Wordlessly, the wind mage slowly walked towards an empty chair in the corner and sat down heavily while he stared at the sentry. DesPonte didn't really know what had happened in the brief seconds where Vaati had stormed out of the shack, but the sorcerer almost appeared startled like someone had splashed cold water at his face. The sentry continued to flutter over his hands, which were now resting on his lap and cradled gently like he was holding something fragile.

Emotion eventually flashed across the sorcerer's normally stoic face. "I just found out you remember everything, and now you're telling me I can't see you?" Vaati asked, his voice a whisper of incredulity. Behind him, DesPonte perked up before he nodded satisfactorily to himself: Vaati was speaking to the princess, and this was irrefutable proof that his cure had been flawless. Contented that his cure hadn't been a failure as had been previously accused, DesPonte settled more comfortably on the floor and listened in on the rest of the conversation between Vaati and Zelda. The wind mage seemed to pay no mind to the fact that the wizzrobe was listening. Despite their earlier mishaps, it seemed that the sorcerer had decided he could consider the wizzrobe to be a trustworthy individual amongst all of the other culprits. Perhaps he'd been embarrassed about his earlier hasty accusation, and this was a gesture to forget something like that had even happened.

The sorcerer seemed to be listening to someone carefully, and he kept a complicated expression on his face. He appeared to be listening closely to what they were saying, but he looked as though he wanted to interrupt them at any second. Still, he kept his patience, biting his cheek unhappily. Finally, with some pained effort comparable to pulling teeth, he managed to utter a reluctant, "Fine," and gave an enormous sigh. "Let Maribel fill you in. I'll go to Labrynna."

There was a pause, a small hitch of breath, and a small glimmer in his eye before he turned his head away towards the wall, maybe with some embarrassment. "I… right."

Then, with DesPonte still watching curiously from under his rock, Vaati dismissed the sentry that had been floating on his hand and leaned back tiredly in the rickety seat. The sentry fluttered away, hovering over to the trapped wizzrobe briefly as though in greeting, before flying off to who knows where.

"I told you it would work," the wizzrobe gave a loud harrumph. DesPonte yelped when he was zapped across his nose by a bolt of magic, and then he mumbled quietly to himself, "Hmmm, hmm, impetuous as ever…"

For several minutes, they settled in silence: DesPonte wondering when in the four seasons he would be allowed to stand up again, and Vaati staring out into the air quietly with a sort of daze. Ten minutes of silence later, the renegade wizzrobe craned his neck towards the quiet sorcerer in an attempt to remind him that he was still very much stuck. Just as the first bit of breath left his mouth, the wizzrobe stopped himself abruptly.

Lord Vaati was soundly asleep, his head rolled to one side and his fingers trailing down to the floor tiredly as they draped against the chair. His hat had slipped down just over his eyes, and steady breaths made the tips of his bangs flutter softly. Waking the sorcerer now would be an immediate death sentence of the most painful kind.

Accepting the fact that he was going to be stuck on the floor for quite some time, DesPonte rested his head on the floppy cloth of his sleeves in as comfortable a position as he could. It wasn't very comfortable, but what could he do? It wasn't like he could move.

_He mustn't have been sleeping well, _DesPonte thought to himself in curious interest as he cautiously watched Vaati collapsed in his chair. It wasn't often that any of the monsters could catch the sorcerer in such a state, unless he was tired to the point he didn't care. The wizzrobe shuddered to think what would happen after Vaati woke up, all reenergized and ready to paint the village red with blood. _Hmm, hmmm, Labrynna. Hate to be living in Labrynna right now,_ he thought back on Vaati's earlier words regarding his next destination. By morning the next day, the Sorcerer of Winds was going to wake up from the first true rest he's had in a while, and then the hunting was going to start for real. It was a scary thought. DesPonte was glad to keep out of Vaati's way.

But maybe he'll keep a close eye on this one, just for curiosity's sake.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Zelda's fingers were shaking as she held them against her face, cold sweat trickling down her nose. She'd cut the masquerade somewhat short, excusing herself for not feeling well and rushing towards her room. She didn't think anyone, except perhaps Impa, noticed that she had been on the verge of collapse when she'd bid everyone a good night: it had already been approaching midnight, and no one seemed to mind that the princess had ended it fifteen minutes short. The party had long since been winding down, and it didn't seem at all out of the ordinary for her to claim that she was going to retire.

With the last bit of her steeled willpower, Zelda had managed to give a beaming smile and wave her guests off as though nothing at all had been amiss. In truth, she'd been fighting to keep herself from suffering a mental breakdown from the rush of memories that had hit her with the force of a powerful gale.

It had happened so abruptly, like a spell had been broken. She'd been chatting with a guest when all of a sudden she'd seen the past year rush before her eyes. Emotion that had been locked away surged with incredible power, and she would have burst to tears from how overwhelming it was had it not been for her determination that she would allow nothing to go wrong tonight.

But now she was away from prying eyes and she didn't have to worry about appearances. Alone, Zelda was curled at the far end of her bed, hugging her pillow tightly and her shaking hands like claws against her face.

_What have I done?_

She remembered all of the times she'd spent with Vaati: when she'd first met him as that infuriating youth at the Palace of Winds, the times when they'd clashed in the beginning and how later on they'd gradually come to trust each other, and finally those times when the very person who had kidnapped her with malicious intent was the one who could bring a smile to her face.

And then there were the newer memories of what she'd done when she hadn't been herself… She remembered with horrifying clarity at how she'd shied away from Vaati, saying words that were more painful than she could have understood at the time. It tore at her heart when she recalled the bewildered hurt on Vaati's face when she'd uttered the words, "Who are you?"

She was the only person he truly trusted, the only one he might let his guard down for, and she'd gone and shattered that trust in thousands of pieces. Knowing him, she hoped they wouldn't draw blood as she tried to pick them up and put them back together like broken glass.

And then there was the trouble with Link: no doubt Vaati would have misinterpreted all of her actions regarding Link. It was true, she had a special sort of affection for her childhood friend, and she did love him. But like a brother. Vaati always had trouble understanding how she could have other important people in her life, and it had taken incredible patience on Zelda's part to help Vaati through his jealousy. Otherwise, he might have seriously tried to kill Link ("try," because Vaati always had an awful track record in defeating the green-clad hero).

When Zelda lost her memories, Vaati was no longer the first person she looked for to comfort her. The princess cringed for the umpteenth time when she remembered back to that time when she pushed Vaati away, demanding to explain who he was as he sat across from her, defeated and confused. She'd been scared, she hadn't known… and it had been Link to reassure her.

Zelda's soft fingers ran through her hair, tugging away at her ballroom hair until they fell into a tangled mess. She'd hurt him. Could she do anything to make this right again?

Just a little while back when she'd regained her memories, she'd hurriedly summoned Maribel to connect a line of communication with Vaati, wherever he was. It had taken a few minutes since the poe was still skittish from when the princess had accidentally attacked her out of fear. However, after some reassurance (and several stern orders), the poe had been happy to open communications with the sorcerer.

"_Vaati!"_

_She could hear his gasp, though he would probably never admit it. She could hear every tremor, every shake in his voice as the sentry relayed what he said to her head. She could imagine his frown deepen as he immediately composed himself and replied with a definitive, "I'm going there now." He required no other explanation: he could tell from her tone that she was back. _

_His Zelda was back. _

_Zelda gritted her teeth, and lowered her head. "No. No, you can't." She spoke every word with immense effort, and she curled her fingers into her blankets when Vaati sounded taken aback. _

"_I can't?" _

_The princess didn't reply. She wanted nothing more than to see him in person again, to wrap her arms around him and apologize for everything he'd had to go through. She'd promised she would never forget him, back at the Four Sword Sanctuary, and yet… _

_But she couldn't see him. Not now. Not yet. And because of that she couldn't find her words in that moment. How could she, when that same old conflict appeared as an obstacle once again. _

_Duty and Selfishness. _

_A princess could not be selfish…_

"_I just found out you remember everything, and now you're telling me I can't see you?" Vaati's voice rose in her head, angry. He was one who moved with powerful selfishness. She was one who moved with resolute duty. Perhaps that's part of what drew them to each other, the curiosity that drove them together, wanting to figure out the other one's world?_

_Zelda sighed. I want to see you, her heart said. "We can't see each other," she repeated instead. She could tell Vaati was about to blow up in anger on the other end, so she shushed him quickly. "We cannot reveal too much to our enemy," she began, "I understand what happened. From what I remember, I know that someone purposely removed my memory of you, most likely in an effort to turn me against you. Someone willing to risk going against the both of us at the same time is an individual with a dangerous drive. We must proceed with caution." _

_Vaati listened without interruption, but Zelda could sense that he was on the verge of cutting her off and declaring that he was going to go see her anyway. It was as though he were struggling with two selfish motivations: one to go see her, the other to teach the perpetrator a painful lesson. Zelda continued to explain. _

"_And because of that, I cannot spend much longer talking to you now as it will raise suspicion. Whoever was responsible managed to enter my chambers: I do not yet know how far their sphere of influence extends. Judging by their sneaky tactics we're going to need to tread carefully to catch them." _

_If she could see his face now, Zelda could imagine creases spreading on Vaati's forehead as he scowled irritably. After several long seconds, the sorcerer let out a defeated sigh. "Fine. Let Maribel fill you in. I'll go to Labrynna." _

_Zelda wondered what business he had in Labrynna. She wanted to ask, but they didn't have the luxury to discuss it here when anyone could be eavesdropping. She just hoped that whatever it was, Roland wasn't involved. _

_Small fingers tenderly ran across the tiny sentry that was hovering above Zelda's palm, and it bashfully suppressed a little squeak while Zelda said, "I've missed you Vaati. I'm sorry."_

_There was a slight pause, and Zelda wondered what it could have meant. Was he upset? Surprised? Relieved? It was almost like there was something he'd wanted to say, but couldn't say as well. "I… right." _

A sad smile had been on Zelda's lips when the conversation had ended. Things were different between them. All of the walls that she'd managed to break down between them were up again, and she could tell that he was wary to trust her completely. Still, if there was one thing they had in common, it was that they were both tenacious to a fault if they set their mind to something. Something like this wasn't going to make them retreat in defeat.

She was the princess who had singlehandedly won the allegiance of all of Hyrule's monsters: whoever was behind this was going to regret picking a fight with her.

"Yes they are, princess."

Zelda's head jerked up, and she came face to face with Maribel whose head was half-submerged in the floorboards, looking up at her shyly. Zelda laughed quietly, realizing she'd been talking aloud. "Oh dear… I've really picked up some of Vaati's bad habits, haven't I?" Then, the princess uncurled herself from her knees and leaned back against the pillows on her bed. "How much of that did you hear, Maribel?"

Maribel floated up so that she was no longer hiding in the floorboards. She gave a respectful bow, her lantern jingling softly. She didn't directly answer Zelda's question, but the meaning was clear. "You will figure this out, my lady. It's a pleasure to have you back, and we are at your disposal. You are powerful despite your frail appearance."

In that moment, Zelda was thankful for Maribel's presence. There were very few people she could trust at the moment, but the poe was someone she knew would be on her and Vaati's side. There was also something about the poe, rude as she was at times, that was refreshingly honest. The ghost could tell it to her straight, and that was something that no one else, not even Link, Impa, or Vaati, would ever do. She'd been a wreck earlier, and not even talking to Vaati had helped (their conversation had made her more anxious in a way), but the poe's words were reassuring. She could do this. She wasn't alone.

"Maribel, I'm going to ask you to tell me everything that has been happening, but before that, I need you to take precautions. No one can know that you and I are speaking again. Not yet." Zelda sat back up and slipped off the bed so that she was kneeling eye-level with the poe. "From now on, make sure that no one can see nor hear us before appearing before me."

At this, the ghostly monster bit her lip nervously and began to fidget. "Um, so, about that…"

The moment the poe hesitated, Zelda tensed, suddenly on guard. Her fingers trailed towards her thigh, but to her dismay the knife she carried strapped around her leg was now gone: it seemed that when she lost her memories, she'd lost some of her habits she'd picked up after returning from the Palace of Winds. Her eyes narrowed, searching the darkness. She wasn't defenseless yet. She still had her magic.

Maribel ducked into the floor boards again, now out of sight. As she left in a hurry, the lantern swung, briefly lighting up the room, revealing a silhouette of a lithe individual standing in the darkened corner.

"Your memory has returned, princess," Impa stepped out of the shadows, her expressionless face revealing nothing.

Zelda remained tense. Even though Impa had always been someone she could trust completely, she wasn't sure anymore. "Do you have business with me?" Zelda asked, trying not to sound too terse.

Given the recent events, the only people she could trust right now were Vaati and Maribel. For all she knew, Impa could have been the one responsible for her memory loss.

More importantly…

What was Impa doing in her room at this hour, showing up unannounced?

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><p>fleets: I know, I ended in a cliffie. I couldn't help it. I'm sorry :P<br>Not much to say, except thank you for being patient with me during my absence! I've missed you guys so much... I really did.

**SkyKly: **Hi Ki! Welcome to the fanfiction website! Once you're here you will never escape, take it from me :P  
>That last chapter was one I'd been waiting to write for the longest time, so I wanted to get it just right. I hope I succeeded, and ahhh thank you so much for your amazingly kind words :) I hope you hadare-having a fantastic summer!

**Aerois: **She remembers now! There might be some hope left for him yet :)  
>Thank you for your amazing reviews, I hope you survived your finals and are enjoying your summer!<p>

**eureka93: **Awaiting for Impa's confrontation, ey? Well, you're going to get it whether you want it or not, because she just overheard everything Zelda said to Vaati...

**MasterShortPantsx3: **Still suspicious of DesPonte? :P Aww I'm sorry I had a huge gap between updates... hopefully the next one won't be as long :(

**Sorceress V: **DesPonte managed to live! ... for now XD. It seemed like the cure succeeded, but the story isn't going to end any time soon :)  
>Aughh I'm so so so sorry the wait was rather long :(<p>

**Dia Newman: **Stories live for drama, eh? :)

**GamerxOtaku: **Ahhh thank you so much I'm always always always happy to hear that people like my works :) I'm sorry about my absence, I hope I can pick up some speed again :(

**Lord Siravant:** Good thing he did have a good explanation, although it was at the risk of embarrassing Vaati... oops? Whoa what? No I've never heard of that game (goes and googles)

**Lady Kiridia: **You bring up really interesting points, and two of them you hit right completely :D. DesPonte mentioned in an earlier chapter that it would work within the hour, but of course Vaati didn't pay attention. The second point is something I wanted to incorporate, but did away with because it started getting too complicated while planning the chapter: I did think about the scenario where Vaati screwed himself over by drinking half the cure, and DesPonte, the good little wizzrobe he was, had measured the dose perfectly. This scenario would have delayed Zelda's recovery, which would have delayed a whole bunch of important events like Impa's encounter right now. It would have made for an interesting scene, so I'm a little sad that I never used it though :s

**realperson909: **Hi there! Whoo another VaaZel fan, welcome! I'm happy to hear you like the story so far, and I hope I didn't make you wait for too long D:  
>My deviant art account if you haven't found it already is fleetfleets :)<p>

**Black-fox: **Thank you for the review :D I'm glad you like it so far! I will definitely see this to the end, even if it kills me :O


	13. The Road Leads to Labrynna

fleets: Heya everyone :) I hope this wasn't _that_ long a wait? Ah well, I don't have too much to say, except to say thank you thank you so so so so much for your absolutely fantastic continued support despite my absences!

I'm having doubts on whether or not this story really belongs in the Romance genre... like there's a pairing but I haven't written about said-pairing in forever and it's like...? but I'll get to that some other time

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><p><strong>Chapter 13: The Road Leads to Labrynna<strong>

"I apologize for startling you, princess. I wanted to make sure that everything was alright."

Zelda watched Impa cautiously as the appointed guardian of the royal family bowed apologetically. She didn't understand why Impa had gone out of her way to sneak around and eavesdrop on her, like she couldn't be trusted.

"I noticed something was wrong when you left the party. You looked shaken. I followed you back to your room in worry but then I heard you say his name…" Impa trailed off, finally averting her eyes in shame. "I sincerely apologize, princess, but I wasn't sure if you were still… if you were no longer…"

"You didn't know if I was a danger to Hyrule or not," Zelda finished, her shoulders relaxing somewhat but suspicion not completely dismissed. When Impa nodded slowly, the princess understood where her guardian was coming from. It _was_ a plausible answer for Impa's sneaky behavior just now. At the same time, that didn't shed light on whether or not she was responsible for her memory loss and because of that, Zelda couldn't trust her. Not at all.

Zelda straightened her back, dropping her hands along her sides. She hated confronting Impa like this. Impa was supposed to be someone she could trust with royal secrets. A friend, even. Now she wasn't sure if she knew who the other woman across from her really was. "So? Now what are you going to do? Since my memory has returned," Zelda asked slowly, "does that mean I am once again 'insane?'"

"Princess I never-" Impa said, aghast.

"You'd thought it. Admit it, please," Zelda interrupted her sharply, holding up a hand. Normally she wouldn't have sounded so stern, but it was late and she was physically and mentally tired. "If you'd believed my story, you would be helping Vaati right now. You wouldn't have let me send Link to go fight him," her voice cracked a little, but she valiantly tried to remain calm, "You wouldn't have let me say those terrible things to him."

Impa stammered, "Princess I… I'm so sorry." It was rare that the Sheikah guardian looked as helpless as she did now. For a few seconds it looked as though Impa didn't know what to do, and then she finally gave a low bow, her head hung humbly and her knee to the floor. "It's no excuse, but I didn't know what to believe. I wanted to believe you but I didn't know if you were…" she trailed off, her eyes darting away in shame.

"Admit you thought I was insane." Zelda whispered. She knew she should stop when she could see her guardian's heart breaking with her words, but she couldn't bring herself to. They were both hurting.

"I'm so sorry princess."

"I can't trust you anymore."

Impa finally looked up, her eyes wide in shock. She wasn't sure if she'd heard the princess correctly, and tried to search Zelda's face for a sign that her sharp ears had misheard her. However, Zelda's pained smile of finality let her know that those words hadn't been imagined. "I… but-"

"How can I trust someone who doesn't trust me?" Zelda continued quietly. It seemed like she had a decision in mind, but was having trouble deciding if it was a good idea. Impa dreaded the answer, and quickly straightened herself up with her hand over her heart, hoping the princess wouldn't go through with whatever it was she was thinking.

"From now on I swear I will never doubt you. I will never let myself think that you have… that you have lost your mind."

The words were honest enough, and for a split second it seemed as though the princess was moved by the sincerity. "I still can't trust you yet, Impa," Zelda said after several long seconds, "You haven't been completely honest with me."

"What-" Impa began, genuinely confused.

The princess shook her head. "You never mentioned anything to me about telling Vaati to leave Hyrule. If he'd still been there I wouldn't have agreed to send Link and Elise after him." Zelda's fingers slid over the masquerade mask that lay on the edge of her bed where she'd flung it off. She remembered her parting words with Vaati at the ball, when she'd wondered why he'd broken her trust by leaving Hyrule castle. It had been an enigmatic comment that the sorcerer had left with, as though the Sheikah knew more about the situation than she was letting on.

"_At least tell me why you left the castle when I asked you to stay. I wanted to trust you" _

"_Why don't you ask that Sheikah of yours about it, then?"_

"That is wrong. I did that to save you," Impa said slowly. Now it was Zelda's turn to look up in surprise. Impa looked like she wanted to reach out with a comforting hand, but kept a respectful distance. Instead, she held her own wrist regretfully. "Had he stayed, you would have been burdened with the weight of a decision that I could see was difficult for you. I wanted to save you from having to carry the guilt of choice, and I apologize for my foolish behavior."

"Oh…"

There was a pause, and Impa seemed to be struggling with putting into words what was on her mind. She opened her mouth only to close it again a few times, until she finally shook her head and began to talk. "I know I've had some reservations about the monsters, and I still do, but…" another mental struggle, and then she sighed, defeated, "there have been small signs that we've been receiving considerable help from the monsters during these trying times. I never brought it up to you because I needed to be absolutely sure, but some strange things are happening around Castle Town and I've been looking into it. I was wondering why Hyrule hadn't collapsed more under the weight of losing more than half of its population, and the answer is that the monsters have helped take on some of the roles that were left unfulfilled." She lowered her eyes, perhaps out of embarrassment of her earlier behavior. "I have even heard during the drunken hours of the night, an individual swearing that a miniblin has been helping her keep her pantries stocked, a job her husband had once done. I, no we, may have been quick to judge them…"

A heavy silence settled in the air as both processed what the other was saying. It wasn't the silence full of tension, as it had been earlier, but now it was one of regretful understanding. They'd both spoken what needed to be said, and now it was time to figure out what was left of their relationship. Impa's admission was somewhat comforting, but a certain level of trust had been broken and it wasn't something that could be mended immediately. They both knew that. It was an uncomfortable conversation. Zelda was the first to speak with a tired sigh. "I want to trust you again, Impa."

The Sheikah replied immediately. "And I, too, would like to have your trust back."

Whatever hopeful glimmer that had lit up on Impa's face was dashed with the princess's next words. "I need you to never set foot in the castle grounds again until this is all resolved." Zelda turned away, having difficulty looking Impa in the eye.

"Princess-!"

Zelda shook her head, interrupting Impa's exclamation. She didn't want to hear any protests lest she change her mind. She couldn't afford to change her mind. Not on this. "This is my most important request of you. Please let me trust you again."

Impa rarely lost her composure, but the guardian was fumbling with her words now. She looked lost, her eyes wandered, and she searched the princess's face for some kind of sign that she wasn't being serious. "But my royal duties… Who will guard your safety and-"

"Maribel can take your place. She will be able to protect me." Zelda snapped her fingers, and the ghost who'd been hiding in the walls jumped into the room. Maribel saluted the princess briefly, and then eyed the Sheikah up and down, sizing up her worth. Impa shot a distasteful look towards the ghost who had replaced her, but was quickly brought to attention by the princess's urgent tone. "Impa… show me that I can trust you again. Show me that you still have faith in me."

Impa hung her head, deep creases lining her face as she struggled to comprehend Zelda's request. The princess was dismissing her; what purpose did she have now? She needed to regain the princess's trust, and there was only one way to get it back. It was a difficult decision, but she didn't have a choice. When she finally looked up again slowly, heavily, there was a determined fire in her red eyes. "With my life I will. I will never doubt you again." Impa gave a low bow, and was surprised when Zelda reached over and hugged her tightly. An apology. Impa lifted her arms and returned the embrace, "I'll do my part to find out who did this to you," Impa whispered. Then, they slowly parted and the guardian walked towards the open window. With one final look back at Zelda, Impa disappeared into the night. "Goodbye, princess."

XXXXXXXXXX

Labrynna was Hyrule's sister kingdom, and it was similar in many aspects. In fact culturally, both kingdoms were nearly identical, and this was due in part to the fact that Labrynna looked up to Hyrule so much that it devoted much of its energy to be like the older kingdom. It was exactly like a younger and older sister relationship: they were independent of Hyrule but constantly looked towards it for guidance.

Perhaps the major difference between Hyrule and Labrynna was that Labrynna was a coastal kingdom, and as such there was a certain kind of saltiness in everything: the air, the food, and even the personalities. As Vaati walked past the docks and the fishermen bringing in their haul, the air filled with the loud and boisterous talk of sailors.

One could say that Princess Zelda had regained her memories at the perfect time, because if she hadn't, Labrynna would have been in absolute ruins right now. Vaati prowled along the coastal town on the outskirts of Labrynna castle like a murderous panther in a cage, eyeing the ivory white towers with distasteful hatred. He just _knew_ that Roland, the king of Labrynna, had his hand in Zelda's memory loss and the plague. He didn't have solid proof, but surely anyone could see that it was _just so obvious_ that Labrynna had something to do with this? He'd found the Labrynnian insignia by Manhandla's carcass, Manhandla had been the source of Zelda's poison, Roland had bullied Zelda into sending a manhunt after him, and Labrynna held the alchemist who was in possession of the plague's cure. _Everything_ pointed back to Labrynna: it couldn't get more obvious.

As the sorcerer curled his nose at the salty ocean wind that drifted from the shore, he kicked a loose piece of cobble towards the looming, taunting castle. All he wanted to do now was to make Roland taste fear like he'd never before and then slowly squeeze the life out of him until he was too broken to cry for mercy, but Zelda had adamantly gone against that idea. Before Vaati could tell her what he intended to do to Labrynna, Zelda, the mind-reader that she was, mentioned very sternly that she was going to be extremely upset with him if he did anything to hurt Labrynna or Roland.

And so Vaati decided not to mention his dreams of setting the vicious Gohma on the loose in the middle of town.

Honestly, Vaati didn't get it. Someone as bright as Zelda should clearly see that Labrynna was in the wrong and therefore needed punishment. What further proof did they need?

Using Maribel as mediator, Zelda had also informed him about what had been going one while she'd been robbed of her memory. Apparently Link and that yappy priestess Elise were on a mission to defeat him. For good. According to Zelda, Vaati was to avoid any sort of engagement with Link or Elise, and he was to run away from them as soon as he saw them. The sorcerer had scoffed at the idea. Him? Run away? If it bothered the princess so much then she should go tell her stupid hero to back off and leave him alone.

But she couldn't, because it would reveal that she'd regained her memory, and it would make it that much more difficult to catch the perpetrator. Vaati had shrugged at that: he thought it would be easier to just turn Labrynna into an indistinguishable crater. The perpetrator would be somewhere under the rubble, wouldn't they? So what if a few other casualties got in the way? It's not like the princess had any personal interest with anyone here.

At the end of the day, with a lot of grumbles and frowns and scowls and complaining, Vaati had grudgingly agreed to listen to Zelda. _No_ he wasn't going to blow up Labrynna as soon as he got there, _no_ he wasn't going to provoke a fight with Link.

But he damned well was going to beat that pest to a pulp if the boy tried to fight him first.

Considering he was kept on a strict leash of NO under the order of Princess Zelda, he was not in a good mood right now. He'd woken up all fresh and ready to blow Labrynna to bits, and then the princess had ruined it by telling him he couldn't do that. He'd been in such a bad mood that he'd almost left that silly wizzrobe immobile under the rock. DesPonte had been mortified at the prospect of being stuck under a rock for the rest of his life, and the wizzrobe's horror had been just enough amusement for Vaati to consider letting him go.

Vaati didn't trust the wizzrobe, but the kooky renegade had proven to be of some use: it would serve him well to let DesPonte live another day.

A few people around Vaati had begun to notice the sorcerer stalking the streets of Labrynna angrily. They quickly moved out of his way, and some window shutters were closed when he approached. To be fair, he appeared frightening, especially since he'd made no effort to conceal his identity when he arrived in Labrynna. He'd boldly walked into the port town, his cape swirling behind him menacingly. His sentries circled him, their red unblinking eyes staring out at the onlookers.

Vaati glowered, peering at the path of people that made way for him to pass. He dared them to stop his slow, deliberate steps towards the royal castle, and sneered when no one did. The more he walked, the more people seemed to recognize him, and soon there was a line of terrified people with their backs pressed against the houses, trying to stay out of his way.

Vaati wasn't worried about the manhunt that Zelda had warned him about. _Let them come,_ he thought with a nasty little grin. If their target was really interested in seeing him dead, then letting them come to him was the best way to draw them out. He peered at each face he passed, his eyes a piercing challenge. _Let them come. _

The trail of hushed whispers and unspoken terror continued all the way up until Vaati reached the heart of the town square. He stopped, and then took a sweeping look at his surroundings. Startled, the onlookers scattered and pretended to go about their daily routine, all while consciously avoiding the sorcerer. Vaati snorted in contempt, briefly glanced over his shoulders, and then walked swiftly to a narrow alley around the corner of a stall.

There was a gust of wind, and the sorcerer was no longer on the ground but overhead on the building roofs. His nose twitched, and his face contorted to a snarl when, a few seconds later, a hooded figure peered into the alley where he'd just been. He'd suspected that he'd been followed when one of his sentries had alerted him to a stranger walking several feet behind him since the time he'd arrived at the port. The individual's face was hidden by a heavy cloth rider's hood, and they wore the rags of a common peasant. From the narrow shoulders and petite waist, he could tell that it was a woman, but that was all he could gather of her features. However, one thing was clear: this individual had been following him.

The sorcerer swooped down, and the suspicious woman stumbled in surprise when he cleared his throat loudly. Before she could react, his hands shot out like a striking snake, slamming against her neck and pinning her up against the cold walls.

"So you finally show yourself. To think such a frail thing like you could be such a nuisance." Vaati dug his hand harder into the woman's neck, and her hood slid back as she struggled for air. He'd expected someone older, and was surprised to see someone so young: she couldn't have been more than fifteen. Her thick red hair tumbled over her face wildly, and that determined spark in her light green eyes reminded him of someone. In fact, he couldn't exactly place why especially since the young girl was but a lowly peasant, but she reminded him of Zelda. He clenched his teeth; he wasn't going to show any mercy just because she reminded him of _her_. It actually made him angrier. "Labrynna… I came to the right place," he threw the girl to the side and she winced as she hit the ground with a thud. She looked up at him in mute silence as he approached, his fingers crackling with terrible energy. "Everything I learned suggested that Labrynna was where I would find you, and sure enough you show yourself to me," Vaati continued coldly, "Pitiful fool. I'd kill you now, but the princess would be interested in meeting you."

At the mention of the princess, the girl scrambled to her knees, "W-wait, no, you're mistaken!" she cried.

Vaati grabbed her by the wrists, and his eyes narrowed when he noticed that her hands were much too smooth to belong to a peasant. She didn't have a single callus. "It's obvious that you're with the ones who are trying to get rid of me. Why else would you be following me?"

"Because," the girl hung her head. She was shaking somewhat, and her behavior was not at all what he expected from someone who'd sprung such an elaborate scheme on him. Vaati had imagined they would be someone with a hell of a backbone; perhaps she was just another pawn in their plans?

Eventually, she met his eyes bravely. Her next words caught him by surprise. He'd expected some kind of admission or begging to be released, but that wasn't what she'd said at all. It wasn't a phrase he often heard, given his reputation.

"-because I need your help," the girl whispered. "My name is Amber. Please take me to the Cave of Trials."

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><p>fleets: You guys will have to stick around to find out who that girl is :P heh<p>

I'm very aware that I haven't included violent Vaati scenes yet of mass terror and destruction. I am very aware. Very. ;)

**Dia Newman: **STUFF HAPPENED

**MasterShortPantsx3: **It seems like the suspicious list might be shrinking...? :P

**Lord Siravant: **It doesn't seem like Impa's out to ruin things? Augh I've had no time to check it out :( I've bookmarked it though for hopefully winter break...

**Flufux: **Ahhh yeahhh I don't know how I did it back then with weekly updates, but these days it's been taking me monthly or more to write another chapter... (too old for this? XD)  
>Aw thanks! Maribel is going to have a decent little role for this story. You describe her perfectly with the creepycute :D  
>And no problem :) I haven't been great at reading and reviewing other people's stories (I haven't read a story on this website in a really long time now because of life...) but it's great to hear you've been continuing! Trickster was one of my favorite characters; I think I like the crazy ones too much<p>

**Twinbell101: **wootwoot :D

**Sorceress V: **I'm back! He's adorkable! And you'll definitely see him doing bad things to people soonish! :P

**SkyKly:** Oh no no I would feel terrible if I left everyone hanging :O  
>Ahhh wow your reviews are like soft fluffy pillows you spoil me so<br>I'm sorry about your knee, but I hope it's better now since the time you wrote the review! I've been having a fairly chaotic month but I think things are calming down a bit now (CROSSING FINGERS SO HARD). Writing stories a little bit each day is sometimes the only thing that's keeping me sane :P

**eureka93: **Now he's all refreshed and ready to go murder a bunch of Labrynnians :D except Zelda told him no. He only listens because he's totally whipped XD (but don't tell him I said that)

**Aerois: **I was so busy! Aughh! But in a good way because it involved a lot of driving around the country and vacationing and getting a crispy sunburn yeah  
>Because I'm needy and evil and want to keep everyone here cozy with me :P<br>Ack that's like one of the best compliments I can ever get... I'm so happy you think my OCs fit in the game world!  
>You didn't quite see it this chapter, but you'll see that rampage sometime soon... ;)<br>Ahahaaa well I never really said I was any _good_ at surfing :P but yes I did surf in the sense that I was in the ocean getting beaten up by waves while paddling for dear life on a board. And somehow that combination ends up being fun. We saw dolphins in the water with us, which would have been really exciting if it weren't for the fact that that means there are sharks nearby too... If you ever go surfing, stick around near the body surfers because the sharks tend to go for them first XD 

**Cutiecat: **Is Impa still suspicious? ;)  
>We're getting pretty close to finding out some answers to all of this; when that happens you can imagine Vaati won't sit around and do nothing :D<br>I'll keep writing until this story is complete! Until the next update :D

**GamerxOtaku: **Angry Vaati on the loose. Angry Vaati on the loose. If you live in Labrynna, now is the time to leave

**Lady Kiridia: **I'm alive! I'm alive I swear!  
>You got it, it was option number two :) Yeeeahh the fluff has been lacking a bit hasn't it? I haven't been able to find an opportunity to sneak it in yet, but that's been on my mind (and bugging me lately).<p> 


	14. The Other Princess

fleets: This is a pretty long chapter compared to the other ones I've written so far! I've been pretty busy (yeah, yeah, that's not really news now is it...), and part of the reason this took so long to update was because, well, this chapter ended up being pretty lengthy! Thank you so much for your patience, and happy early Halloween :)

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><p><strong>Chapter 14: The Other Princess<strong>

Vaati wasn't used to people asking him for help, and especially not from someone he'd expected was against him. Because of this, he wasn't really sure how he should react except to try and organize all of the questions swirling around in his head. Who was she? What did she want from him? What was at the Cave of Trials? Why did she want his help?

Before Vaati could ask any of these questions, the girl abruptly stood up and threw her cowl over her face, covering her red hair. She pressed close against the alley walls, nodding nervously towards the entrance where urgent voices were becoming louder. "Allow me to discuss this somewhere else; no one must see me with you. Please!"

Vaati turned towards the direction the girl was looking. He could hear the heavy boots of the guards hitting the ground, steadily approaching. He turned to the girl, Amber, and his curiosity got the better of him. What could this girl possibly want his help for, at the risk of having Labrynna against her? He still didn't like the fact that she was bold enough to think she could follow him without him noticing, but he was willing to at least hear her out. He'll leave her at the bottom of Lake Hylia if he decided he didn't like what she had to say.

Vaati strode over and stared her down, as though deciding what to do with her. Before Amber could react, he flicked a finger with a casual "To Stone With You," mumbled under his breath. Where Amber once was, there was now a statue that looked like the suspicious girl, her horrified expression etched permanently onto the stone. The guards came running into the alley just in time to see Vaati examining the statue in an offhanded manner. The poor guards were clearly there out of a sense of duty, but from the way they all stood nervously behind their spears with their back bent over and their knees barely keeping their weight, none of them really wanted to confront the infamous sorcerer of Hyrule. Vaati looked at them lazily while dark shadows began to pool around his feet until they rose up along his ankles, his torso, his face. The wind mage's sinister chuckles sent the majority of the guards running the other way, and the rest followed suit when Vaati transformed into a gigantic red eye with its monstrous claws wrapped around the petrified Amber.

With a great gust of wind, the terrible monster disappeared into the sky, leaving behind it a trail of spine tingling cackles that chilled the air.

XXXXXXXXXX

Fifteen minutes later, the giant eye swooped down through the forest on the outskirts of Labrynna, and dropped the statue of Amber down onto the dirt unceremoniously. It collapsed sideways with a thud, and the eye stared at it critically for some time until it decided it would release the girl from the curse. A gleam shone for an instant across Vaati's red eye, and the petrified skin crumbled away in a blinding light. Amber gasped for breath, holding her palms against her chest as though to steady her heart. The great eye didn't give her much time to recover, and the girl froze in fright when she noticed it loom over her with a terrible presence.

"_Start talking._"

Vaati showed no emotion aside from a steady, cold stare while the girl looked up with her big green eyes. They were droopy and would have seemed weak and doe-like, if it weren't for the thick, sharply arched brows that settled above them. They weren't weak at all, and even though fear veiled most of her eyes, Vaati could see that fire he'd only ever seen in a few others. It was a glimmer that pierced even the most hopeless darkness. He'd seen that look on Zelda before: she could have been what the princess had been like when she'd been a few years younger. She was much too young to be carrying that ageless expression, one that had seen too many things a girl her age should not have to see. This wasn't an ordinary peasant girl…

"You're as brutal as they say," Amber muttered, making sure her limbs were okay and gesturing towards herself with a somewhat accusatory tone, "was turning me to stone necessary?" Again, this caught Vaati by surprise: few people dared to be so upfront with him out of fear, and yet this girl was being so bold even after he'd cursed her to stone. She was very much afraid, he could tell from the way her voice wavered, but something of great urgency was driving her to act beyond her fear.

_Interesting._

"_You haven't seen anything yet, little girl, so you better start talking. Now,"_ Vaati boomed, the trees shaking from the low timber of his monster voice, but it wasn't as frightening as it could have been. If he'd been truly angry, Amber would have been at the bottom of a cold lake by now, but she'd caught his intrigue.

Amber couldn't have known this, however, and seemed frightened that he was truly angry. She backed away slowly against a nearby tree, and looked briefly at her surroundings as though wondering if she could call for help if she had to. Only the vast emptiness of the forest greeted her. The girl wavered, and her shoulders shook slightly before she bunched her fingers into fists and blurted out hurriedly, "M-my name is Amber." She flinched when Vaati rolled his eye slowly, the sarcasm inherent in his unvoiced sneer of "tell-me-something-I-don't-already-know." The girl took a deep breath, and straightened out her dusty brown dress that was a size too big. "I need your help to reach the Great Fairy's wellspring that lies at the bottom of the Cave of Trials."

The blink was a slow one. A painfully slow one. One that was the physical representation of all of the incredulity and scorn that bubbled up to the surface. It was all Vaati could do, really, because this had been one of the last things he'd expected the young girl wanted from him. He was so taken aback that the wind around them stilled completely, and the only sound around them was the shaken breathing of the curious girl.

"_A selfish brat, aren't you?" _Vaati began after several minutes. He'd recovered from the blink, and now his red eye narrowed and he slowly lifted his four bat-like wings menacingly. Amber stumbled and fell backwards, her knees giving away from the terrible presence before her, and her eyes wandered in a panic as though wondering what it was that she'd said wrong._ "And here I thought you'd have a better story for me."_

The great eye approached Amber slowly, and for the first time Vaati could see a flicker of uncertainty behind that gleam of determination. He grinned inwardly to himself, reveling in that fear. He hadn't really liked her boldness anyway. The wind mage continued to watch the girl with his judgmental stare. Although he'd never been to the bottom of the Cave of Trials himself, he'd heard of its stories. They said that if a person were to make it to the bottom of the treacherous pit, they would be granted a wonderful gift bestowed by the Great Fairy herself. Whispers said that there wasn't just one gift, but multiple, and they all granted the champion powers that were equivalent with the great sages themselves. Some stories exaggerated it to the point that the champions became like gods. Vaati never had an interest in the Cave of Trials because in his point of view, he was already a god: it would be redundant to go and unpleasant as well, since he wasn't very fond of the Great Fairies anyway.

The sorcerer looked the girl up and down again, sizing her up. To think that this little runt was after something so ambitious, and with his help no less, struck him as extremely offensive. _I should have just gotten rid of her._

Perhaps Amber had sensed that she was in danger, but she raised her voice sharply, getting Vaati's attention. "I know what you're here for!" she called, her hands holding onto the sides of her dress in wrinkled bunches, "You want to see King Roland."

A flicker of unidentifiable emotion passed across the giant eye. The claw that had been slightly raised, in preparation to cast a deadly spell in Amber's direction, lowered slightly. Then, another flash of something akin to amusement appeared on Vaati's face. _"Wrong. I want to see 'King' Roland dead," _he corrected coldly.

Amber immediately closed her mouth, and it looked as though she was about to panic. Before she could say anything, Vaati waved her comment away with a giant claw. "_I will keep him alive, however, because the princess doesn't want me to kill him. He'll live," _then he added darkly, "_for now."_

"The princess…?" Amber trailed off, her brows which had earlier been furrowed into one of extreme concern, relaxed somewhat and was replaced with an arch of surprise. It took her a moment to realize that Vaati was speaking of the princess of Hyrule herself. "What is your relation to her?" the girl asked hesitantly. Of course she'd heard rumors, and wild ones at that, about the princess of Hyrule and the infamous sorcerer. Vaati, hearing the unspoken criticism and curiosity of one who'd heard too many rumors, cut her off with rudely.

"_She's mine,"_ he growled with a tone of finality. Then, the enormous eye swirled into a dark cloud and abruptly turned back into the pale-skinned youth. Vaati's wrists snapped sharply forward like the head of a snake, grabbing the other girl's wrists harshly and pulling her towards him forcefully. His red eyes narrowed as he stared into Amber's startled face. "And you? Who are you to dare ask for my help?" the sorcerer spat the last word as though it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"M-my name is Amber and I'm a homeless orphan –"

"Enough."

Amber closed her mouth shut, and she collapsed onto the dirt when her knees buckled out of fright. Vaati's voice had carried an ice that held every ounce of malevolence; it was a voice full of anger and disdain, accusing her that she'd said something she shouldn't have said. The girl cringed when the sorcerer pushed her arm with his foot.

"You think you can fool me into thinking you're some peasant orphan with that idiotic disguise of yours?" Vaati hissed. "You don't think I noticed that your hands are much too smooth for you to be a girl living off the streets? Pah!" this time he gave her a harder kick, "If you lie to me again, I'm going to turn you over to the moblins to have their way with you. Now," he loomed over the frightened girl, "what noble house are you from and why do you need to go to the Cave of Trials?" he bared his teeth in a snarl, "What are you after?"

Amber flinched, and she looked around as though wondering if there was anyone who could help her. However, they were deep in the middle of the woods and only the dark silhouettes of the sea of trees greeted her. She was alone, and that determined fire that had been in her eyes earlier had begun to dim as though she were starting to regret her decision to ask for Vaati's help. She'd hesitated a second too long, and the sorcerer squeezed her wrist tightly, making her yelp and stutter out a hurried answer. "I-I'm from the house of Elwood! If anyone saw me with you it w-would ruin our reputation so-" she covered her face with her free hand, calming herself. It was impressive how she was holding herself together, and after a few seconds of breathing deeply, Amber of Elwood was explaining herself as serenely as she could as though her previous outburst had never happened. Vaati figured that it was from her background as a noble, since they were often expected to remain calm and collected at all times. "I have connections. I will take you to see the king after you help me. It isn't easy for outsiders to gain an audience with our king, but with my name I will be able to get you to the throne room."

At this, the sorcerer couldn't help but give a nasty laugh. "And what makes you think I can't just go to the throne room myself to meet the bastard? What makes you so arrogant as to think I'm interested in anything you have to offer?" he sneered, "Do you actually know who I am?"

"If you have any love for Hyrule, you will want to come with me to the Cave of Trials as well." Amber's words were enough to quiet Vaati's chuckles, and his condescending smile was replaced with confusion. Amber continued, settling down on the dirt and leaning against a tree, and she suddenly seemed tired as she began to recount her story. "A few months ago Labrynna was affected by the same plague that now affects Hyrule. During that time I tried to think how it could have spread, so that we may begin to find a cure. I figured it was likely that something that spread so rapidly but remained contained in a certain region was a water-borne disease."

"Sounds reasonable," Vaati shrugged. He wasn't that interested in what problems Labrynna got itself into, but he walked over and leaned against the opposite tree anyway to indicate he was listening. He'd heard from Zelda that Roland had told her the same thing, and that they were leveraging their cure to get her to kill him. He snorted at the thought, but didn't mention anything of it to Amber as she continued.

"The Great Fairies, as you know, protect the region from such devastating plagues. This is why we keep our lands well cared for. When things go awry, such as this plague, our first suspicion is that we had somehow upset the Great Fairies." Amber hesitated, and then briefly glanced at Vaati from under her hood, "Some also say that we are being punished by the goddesses."

The glance had been brief, but Vaati had caught it. "You think _I'm_ to blame, do you?" he shot irritably.

Amber looked at her feet. "Well, it's true that many believe that Hyrule is being punished by the goddesses for harboring the… infamous sorcerer himself," then, she shook her head, "but I think there is more to it than that."

_Well, get on with it then!_ Vaati thought impatiently, but resisted the urge to scare the girl into getting to the point. The other girl's forehead was no lined with deep crow's feet, completely out of place on someone so young. Amber drew circles on the ground next to her as she continued slowly. "One of our chemists was able to find a cure, but before that I'd noticed something peculiar. I had been walking in the woods near the Cave of Trials. I… tend to go out on walks alone when I'm feeling stressed," she sighed, and by now Vaati had ceased with his disdainful expression and was silently staring at her with his usual unreadable expression, the one he usually wore whenever he was thinking about something, "I noticed someone suspicious walk in to the Cave. I'd thought nothing of it at the time, as brave souls sometimes attempt the trial to see the Great Fairy at the final well. It wasn't until a week ago, when Hyrule had been afflicted by the same plague, that I'd begun to be suspicious that the plague was not of natural causes, nor was it a punishment from the goddesses. I had once again seen the _same exact_ suspicious individual walk into the Cave of Trials."

At this, Vaati interrupted sharply, "Who was it?" Disappointingly, however, Amber only shook her head.

"I don't know. I never approached close enough to see their face, and they wore a hood that concealed their face on both occasions. I only know it was the same individual because they had the same voice," her face brightened for the first time that day, exposing some of her youth, when she realized she did know something about the suspicious individual, "they were male. He was a tall male."

"So you think this man is responsible for both plagues?" Vaati asked, "because if you do, I've got a word or two with him."

Amber nodded, that determined fire once again beginning to reappear as she gained confidence. "This is why I thought you would also be interested in going to the Cave of Trials with me. Even if we can't catch this man, we can at least try to see what is causing the plague. The Great Fairy's pool has two streams leading from it, one to Labrynna and one to Hyrule, which connects to the wells in both kingdoms that provide water to their people. If anything had happened to the water, it would be easy to cause a mass plague to either of the kingdoms." Then, she added more quietly, "I am also afraid of what may have happened to the Great Fairy…"

Vaati was more willing to listen to Amber now, but he still wasn't completely on board with her story. It was at the root of why her approach had bothered him so much initially, and that was, "Why me?" his voice was accusatory and cautious, but it was no longer condescending and tinged with anger. "You could ask anyone for help, and of all people you could have asked, you want to risk your chances with me, _despite_ knowing my reputation. So why," he repeated, "me?"

"I did ask others!" Amber blurted, frustration in her voice. She whacked her fist over the circle she'd been absentmindedly drawing in the dirt. She grabbed some grass that was growing next to her and pulled at it angrily. "I brought it up to Roland, thinking he of all people would be interested in investigating the Cave. Instead of helping me, he said it 'wasn't worth the casualties,' and gave up. He gave up while Hyrule was in trouble and then had the nerve to say he won't help unless Zelda had you kil-" she stopped herself, "-unless Princess Zelda had you killed," she finished softly.

"Zelda?" Vaati asked, suspicion creeping into his voice again.

"Yes, Princess Zelda is being ordered to –"

"To have me killed. I know that already," Vaati snapped. The two shared an uncomfortable silence, with Vaati staring Amber down with his gaze full of suspicion. He didn't call her out on the fact that she'd just mentioned the princess's name casually, as well as the king of Labrynna, as though she knew them both personally, but he let it slide. For now. That wasn't the most pressing issue at the moment. "I still think Roland is the one who knows everything that's been going on. I don't need to waste my time with this, I should just take him by the neck and get this entire thing over with," he muttered.

"He isn't guilty of anything," Amber insisted.

Vaati scoffed. "And why not?"

"Because…" Amber faltered. She bit her lip as though searching for an explanation that would be reasonable, and then finally hung her head dejectedly when she couldn't find the right words to say, "because he can't be," she finished lamely. Then, with a final plea, wringing her hands together in unintentional prayer, she looked up at the skeptical sorcerer. "Please give him a chance. If we can't find any clues at the Cave of Trials, I swear I will take you to him. I swear on my life."

For several long seconds, Vaati simply watched her with his expressionless stare until Amber was beginning to look worried. Then, he smirked, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Desperation," he mused with a sneer, "I like that look. Fine, I'll let you follow me to the Cave of Trials."

XXXXXXXXXX

Hours later and night had fallen, Princess Zelda undid her pony tail and let her hair fall loosely over her shoulders as she readied to go to sleep. Maribel dutifully did the jobs Impa had once done, carefully of course so the maids wouldn't notice the presence of the ghost, making one last check for suspicious persons nearby before reporting the day's findings. Apparently Impa had been seen mingling with the people of Castle Town last, but she'd been difficult to track down. Zelda smiled with some regret at relieving Impa of her post, but she remained hopeful that one day she'll be able to invite her back again.

The princess fell back onto her bed, tired, and then glanced towards the poe who was patiently waiting for last orders before she went to sleep. "Maribel," she tilted her head towards the eerie blue glow of Maribel's lantern. The ghost perked up in attention as Zelda inquired, "What do you think that whole conversation was about?"

The poe shrugged unhelpfully. "I don't know."

Zelda watched Maribel for a few more seconds, and then sighed deeply, staring up at the ceiling when she accepted the fact that not even one of Vaati's minions knew just what that conversation had been about.

Vaati had contacted her just a few minutes ago, wanting to ask a few curious questions. He'd been keenly interested in the noble houses of Labrynna, and while Zelda had been happy to hear his voice, the entire conversation had been… awkward. Both of them had been businesslike, to-the-point, and sharing their day to day in the way of a linear report. Once Vaati had his answers to his questions, their conversation had ended, and Zelda had been left sitting with the tiny sentry in her hand with the sting of things left unsaid. There had been as much life in the conversation as there was life in the moving Armos statues.

It had been cold.

_What happened to us? _Zelda thought, propping an arm over her forehead. She thought back wistfully on all of the times that they had silly bantering, conversations that were full of wit and laughter, along with a playful punch here and an affection squeeze on the hand there.

Then again, how many of those instances had there been? She could think of some examples here and there, but there were more memories of when she'd pushed Vaati away because she'd been stressed and worried about the state of her kingdom. She'd often told him to wait and be patient, that everything was going to be okay soon, that the people will come to accept them soon enough, and yet before she knew it an entire year had passed with the same problems in place.

An entire year had passed where she'd told Vaati to wait, and he'd waited an entire year patiently despite the fact that he wasn't known for being patient. _Did we even have an us?_

Guilt weighed her down, and the arm over her forehead slid down to hide her eyes. She'd messed up. Whenever Vaati became upset that he'd had enough of waiting, she'd accused him of being selfish, not understanding where she was coming from, and had told him to wait some more. Whenever he tried to be affectionate, she'd greet him with hesitation because she was afraid of putting her heart out there. "What if the people saw?" she'd always think in her head, and because of that she would hesitate, and that didn't go unnoticed by him. "Not now," she would say, and chalk it up to a number of excuses ranging from being busy to being exhausted. He'd put up with that for a year, and then when she lost her memories she'd told him to wait for her in the dungeons.

He'd waited for her then, too. For a week. Waiting and believing that she'd come around.

"Maybe I was the selfish one," Zelda muttered out loud. She'd been so afraid of messing up that she'd ended up stringing him along, and he'd put up with it only to be called selfish over and over again. He wasn't the only one with issues: they both needed to figure each other out. Zelda shook her head. _No. I need to figure myself out. _

And the best part was, both of them had been "together" for a year (unofficially married for Din's sake!) and yet neither of them had admitted that they loved each other. It almost seemed like a stupid competition between them, that the first one to say it was going to "lose." She knew he cared for her more than he cared for anyone else, and that was so obvious by the lengths he went for her. But what about Vaati? She'd been so tired from giving her time to her kingdom that she'd had very little left for him. And the question that lingered now was, "Do I love him?"

_With everything I've put him through, it sure doesn't seem like it…_ she thought sadly.

_No wonder he seems so cold now_.

Zelda peeked under her arm when she heard the poe mumbling something a few feet away. She'd forgotten that she hadn't yet excused the ghost from her room, and Maribel was still waiting for any last orders. She smiled a bit when she noticed the ghost was complaining quietly that she wasn't a mind-reader in answer to her previous question about whether or not she loved Vaati. "Maribel."

"Oh! I said that out loud, didn't I?" the ghost exclaimed, jumping up in visible shock.

Zelda shook her head with a smile, and then asked quietly, "Do you think Vaati is mad at me?"

With a crooked tilt of her head, Maribel considered the princess's words carefully, the light of her ghostly eyes dimming slightly as she thought. Then, the poe responded with a surprisingly insightful answer, "There's only one thing you can do when you think someone is mad at you, my Lady," she said, "you must love them freely and without expectations, and hope that they still have it in their heart to forgive you."

Zelda stared at the ghost in open-mouthed shock, while Maribel waited expectantly for some kind of response. When the princess didn't say anything for a while, Maribel shook her lantern impatiently. "So? Was that a good answer?"

"Y-yes but Maribel I thought monsters didn't understand anything like-" Zelda stammered, completely caught off guard.

"Pff, I'm just repeating some 'life lessons' or whatever that some lady in town lectured me on," Maribel waved her hand, interrupting the princess rudely. "It all sounded silly to me. You Hylians have such weird ideas about –" the ghost stopped herself, and then covered her mouth with her skeletal hands upon noticing she might have said something offensive. Then, she continued a little shyly after she remembered Zelda saying she appreciated her openness, "I don't understand Hylians. I think Lord Vaati is more like you Hylians sometimes, too."

Zelda smiled, the worried creases on her forehead fading away somewhat. She didn't bother questioning Maribel why or how the ghost had managed to have a conversation with someone in town. She didn't care. Right now, she just wanted to hug the ghost for unintentionally knowing the right thing to say. She laughed a little. "I think you're right Maribel," she snuggled into her bed covers, "I think you're right."

XXXXXXXXXX

It was the morning after Vaati encountered Amber that the two moved out to the Cave of Trials. Even though Amber had been eager to go to the cave as soon as possible, Vaati had dropped her off at Labrynna port, saying he had some business to attend to. Someone to talk to. Amber wondered just who would be close enough to the infamous sorcerer for him to want to talk to them so urgently, but Vaati didn't disclose any details.

They met the next morning outside of town again, so as not to catch the eyes of curious bystanders. Amber was still in her peasant disguise, just in case, and had brought with her a large pack filled with some food and water for the both of them. Their exchange was brief, and they immediately made their way towards the Cave of Trials.

The Cave of Trials was located in a sparsely wooded field just outside of Labrynna. Vaati flew them down onto a field of tall grass, and then he turned back into his Hylian form, pushing forward through the waist-high blades and towards a dirt mound in front of them. Amber followed closely behind him, careful not to accidentally step on his cape and batting the grass away from her face.

The cave didn't look like much except for a large gaping hole within the mound of dirt and large boulders, leading downwards into what seemed like a bottomless pit. There was a beaten sign in front of it with an ominous message: Here lies the Cave of Trials. Step through the never ending night with caution. The Holy Light awaits in the deepest of darkness.

Amber watched Vaati casually hop down into the pit with trepidation, and she peered over the edge nervously, her green eyes searching for where Vaati could have gone. She couldn't see him, but she could definitely hear him.

"Are you coming down here or what?" his voice echoed impatiently.

"I-I'm going!" she answered quickly, and with a huge breath, she swung herself over the ladder and climbed down into the dark pit, careful not to have her feet slip from the rungs. When she reached the bottom, she hugged the wall for a few seconds to let her eyes adjust to the darkness. "We must be careful to search each room carefully. The suspicious individual may have left some clues," she said, while looking around the room for Vaati. As more time passed, her eyes could make out a large, empty circular room.

Empty.

She was alone, and Vaati was nowhere in sight.

"Vaati?" Amber asked, trying to hide the slight tremor in her voice. She thought she could hear some scratching noises from somewhere in the far end of the room, but she couldn't see where it was coming from. She really hoped that sound was coming from Vaati, wherever he was. "Vaati where are you?" she asked again, her voice lowered now as the scratching approached. She began to rummage into the backpack she'd brought, and took out a torch. She just needed to find the flint that could start a fire.

However, there was no need for a torch anymore, as suddenly the entire chamber lit up with torches hanging all around the room. Amber gasped, terrified, when she realized that she was no longer alone but in the worst way possible. A group of six, imp-like goblins with bulging yellow eyes had snuck into the chamber, their greyish purple leathery hide blending them into the remaining darkness. Each of them was about the height of a small child, and all of them held pitchforks that were three times their size. They hopped slowly towards the lone girl, their pitchforks pointed at her threateningly. They were miniblins.

"Monsters!" Amber cried, dropping her backpack and clamoring towards the other end of the room. She looked wildly around for the sorcerer who she was sure was still nearby, but he was nowhere to be found. "Vaati help!"

The young girl picked up a rock and threw it wildly at the group in panic. The throw had been flimsy and weak, and the rock bounced on the dirt pathetically by the monsters' feet. The miniblins hopped towards her even closer, forming a small half-circle around her so that she was cornered against the wall with nowhere to go. Amber cowered away, pressing her back against the cool stone wall, and she whacked away one of the sharp points of a pitchfork that had jabbed towards her shoulder. Another jab poked her in the ribs: it wasn't any damaging kind of hit, and it was more of a poke of curiosity to see what kind of victim the miniblins had caught. However, it was enough to send Amber into complete panic. "_Where are you Vaati?_!" she yelled angrily, and then her hands shot out in front of her forming a bright barrier of light that flung the group of miniblins several feet away from her. Before the startled monsters could react, Amber summoned a small bow of light, similar to the one Zelda could summon except smaller and dimmer, and shot every single one of them in quick succession. The miniblins were felled instantly, and they disappeared in a puff of purple smoke, leaving only the scared girl breathing heavily where she stood. As the last of the smoke faded into the air, an ominous, spine-chilling laugh echoed in the room.

"Hahahahahahaha! I knew it! I knew it." Vaati suddenly appeared, his Hylian appearance materializing abruptly in the middle of the room. His cape snapped behind him like a dark, terrible cloud, and Amber, who had earlier been calling for his help, looked like she regretted asking for him. He strode over to the startled girl, and he pushed her into the wall with a firm hand. "I finally know who you really are, _Amber_," he gave her a toothy grin as he towered over her. He caught a flicker of shock and uncertainty in the young girl's eyes and his wolfish grin grew even wider.

"Last night I decided to ask a very knowledgeable individual a few questions about the nobles of Labrynna, and I found out a few _very_ curious details," he began, and started to pace slowly like an animal that had cornered its prey. Amber began to pale, and looked as though she wished she were back with the miniblins again rather than with Vaati. "Did you know, for example, that the house of Elwood doesn't exist? Hmm? Did you also know that only a very few individuals are able to use the spell you just used now? And that it's restricted to those with royal blood?" Vaati's voice rose gradually, intimidatingly. Then, without warning, he lashed his right hand forward. His fingers clasped around her neck and he slammed her against the wall, absolutely livid with anger. "What do you think about that, _Princess Ambi?"_

"What… no!" the girl gasped, struggling to free herself from his grip. However, her voice lacked conviction and it was obvious that she'd been found out.

"You're that bastard Roland's little sister!" Vaati hissed, and flung her across the dirt. He'd found her suspicious from the start, and ever since he'd met her he hadn't been able to shake off the feeling that her maturity reminded him too much of Zelda. No, it wasn't just her maturity. It was the way she held herself with poise, the way she spoke without the carefree nature of most teenagers her age. "You and Roland are working together, aren't you?"

"No!" Princess Ambi insisted, and the young girl brushed herself off the ground, and she finally stood her full height, her back straight and confident like a true princess instead of the peasant she'd disguised herself to be. "Although it's true I am Ambi, the Princess of Labrynna," she said, "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Vaati snapped, stomping towards her, "You know that your brother is the one who's behind all of this! Your brother had something to do with Zelda's memory loss! He's the one responsible for the plague! He's the one who's using cowardly methods to try and challenge me!"

Ambi seemed surprised at the news of Zelda's memory loss, but then firmly stood her ground, not wavering under his accusatory finger. "He would never do that! He won't do that! You can't say that!"

"Oh, can't I?" Vaati sneered. "Then how do you explain the fact that the poison that affected Princess Zelda came from a certain swamp, and in that swamp there was evidence of Labrynnian soldiers having set foot there? Wasn't that because you wanted to get rid of the one creature who knew who the culprit was, the Manhandla? How do you explain how Roland immediately offered Zelda a cure to the plague, but only if she agreed to get rid of me? And how do you explain the fact that Roland was in Hyrule immediately before Zelda lost her memories, hmmm? Doesn't this sound all very convenient?"

"None of that proves he's actually involved in this!" Ambi insisted, but there was a slight uncertain waver in her voice. Then, she tried again with renewed confidence. "And we don't even know what caused the plague anyway! We don't even know who the suspicious person I saw was! You can't blame him! He'll never do something like what you describe!"

Vaati smirked, amused by how he'd managed to finally break the little princess's composure. "And why are you so sure about that?"

"He's my brother," Princess Ambi replied immediately.

The sorcerer scoffed. "Hah! Like that says anything."

"I know him better than you do."

At this, Vaati rounded on the princess. "Oh? And here you are asking _me_ for help instead of your brother who you know so well. Why is that?" Then, he added in a low voice, "Maybe there's something you know about him that you haven't told me yet?"

"Stop it! My brother has enough to worry about!" Her hands bunched into fists, "I know it was a risk to ask for your help. It was reckless and dangerous to seek you out. I _know _that. But I was desperate and I didn't have a choice! My brother has enough to worry about, and I, Princess Ambi of Labrynna, am perfectly capable of finding a solution to this problem!"

"Hmph. I'm sure. I'm sure he has enough to worry about, especially since he picked a fight with me." In the dim chambers of the Cave of Trials, Vaati circled around the now-distraught princess of Labrynna like a vulture. He stopped just after he made a full circle, and peered down his nose at the girl, his eyes narrowed. "Hmph, fine, so I might decide to believe you that you're not working with Roland. Still," he paused, "I hate people like you," he said with a hiss. "So naïve, so gullible. You think you know someone, but you don't." He was almost saying the words to himself now, as though he were thinking back on a distant memory. Princess Ambi quieted down from the disgust and hate that radiated from Vaati. It was nothing like his anger from earlier: this one came from somewhere deep in his heart, and that made it more terrifying.

After a few minutes, the young princess looked down at her hands, and dared to interrupt the sorcerer's thoughts. "But what about Zelda?" she asked quietly.

Vaati stirred, and the anger in his red eyes subsided somewhat as he was forced out of whatever memory he'd been reliving. The corners of his mouth twitched irritably as he scoffed, "Well what about her?"

Ambi hesitated, "Well, it's just that… well don't you… well doesn't she-"

"Let me tell you something," Vaati suddenly interrupted, not letting Ambi finish what she'd been about to say, "I hate idiots like you," he repeated, "and when I see idiots like you I want nothing more than to throw them into despair like they've never experienced. That's exactly what I'm going to do." He grabbed her wrist roughly and dragged her towards a hole in the ground that had opened up in the middle of the chamber. It led further into the Cave of Trials, again into a seemingly bottomless pit of darkness. He pushed her towards the hole, making her cling onto his arm in fear at what he was going to do. His next words, however, surprised her.

"We're going to go down to the depths of this cave, and we're going to find proof that your brother is responsible for all of this. I'll show you what trust like that will do to you."

"Wha-" Ambi's head whipped towards the sorcerer in surprise. Vaati didn't look at her, and even though she searched his face he gave nothing away on what he was thinking. Was he… actually going to give her a chance? One of the most dangerous individuals in the world was actually going to humor her, even after finding out that she was related to someone he was suspicious of? A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "And I'll show you what it means to have faith."

Vaati rolled his eyes. "I _really_ hate people like you." Then, he shook himself free of the young girl's grip. "You'll 'show me,' hmm? Daring to challenge me. Ha." And then, he disappeared into the next level of the Cave of Trials. Just before he disappeared, however, Ambi caught an expression on the sorcerer's face that she hadn't seen before.

It was a tiny smile, almost too faint to catch.

* * *

><p>fleets: I hope that was a beefy enough chapter for everyone :)<br>First things first - for those of you who aren't familiar with Oracle of Ages, Princess Ambi is related to Queen Ambi from that game. In that game, Queen Ambi had her own little sidequest story where she was in love with a sailor who had eventually turned into a Stalfos while sailing in a cursed sea. They eventually reunite, and she promises to wait for him forever T_T

The Cave of Trials is based off of those 100-floor dungeons of doom in the Legend of Zelda series (e.g. Wind Waker, Twilight Princess). At the bottom (in some games) is the great fairy's well, and she grants you some kind of awesome gift like an extra heart container.

And finally, Zelda. I didn't really talk about Zelda and Vaati's relationship in the year that went unmentioned between WIR and this story, but I thought I should allude to what happened at some point. Previously I liked talking about how Zelda was selfless and Vaati was selfish, but all of that can change if we change the perspective a bit :P

Thanks for waiting, everyone. I'm sorry I couldn't update sooner, and I really really appreciate anyone who stuck around for this update to happen :O Happy Halloween!

**Dia Newman: **NO COME BACK TO LIFE! (throws fairies at you)

**Cutiecat: **It was Princess Ambi! I guess she's an OC, but based heavily off of Queen Ambi from Oracle of Ages :)

**GamerxOtaku: **awwhhh thank you! I hope I can keep the suspense levels high until the very end ;)

**Aerois: **What's that saying again? The road to evil is paved with good intentions? While Impa wasn't exactly evil, all of the unfortunate interactions between her and Zelda was just a product of good intentions :(  
>Haha well I always thought the same as you did about Labrynna! Until I went back and looked at the map and boy there's a lot of ocean on that map. Hehe, not exactly an OC, but I guess semi-OC? OC based heavily off of a game character OC? :O<br>I WAS THINKING THE SAME THING ABOUT HILDA (thepairingisrealthepairingisrealthepairingisreal)

**Flufux: **Yeah, it would be hard for me to make Impa into a true villain because she's so loyal to Zelda in every single game she appears in. Only misguided good intentions would cause her to work against the princess, I think (which was somewhat the case here). Ahhhh yeah I didn't get to read the entire chapter yet, but when you mentioned way back ages ago that you made a new character, I shuffled over and took a peek on what the character was like...

**MasterShortPantsx3**: It'll start to get more obvious who the culprit is eventually :)

**Sorceress V: **Hahaha welll Zelda would definitely _definitely_ be upset with him if he blew up an entire kingdom... haha XD

**Lady Kiridia: **It does seem like the suspicion is pointed towards Roland, doesn't it... Framing eh? Quite possible :P It all seems a little too obvious otherwise? Or maybe I'm just going to surprise you all and have Vaati be right for once XD

**eureka93: **"Amber" is from Oracle of Ages! Kind of. She's an ancestor to the Queen Ambi from the Oracle series :) It's a fantastic game btw! One of my favorites for sure.

**SkyKly**: I think eventually the list will get so short that you guys will figure out who it is on your own to be honest :P Ambi's definitely brave. She could be an ally, she could be a spy, eh? Good point about Link and Elise! You can expect that when I write about them next, there's going to be a lot of kabooms... heh :D  
><em>You're more amazing for being so incredibly supportive i'm sounding like a broken record I can't even a;skjdf;lkj<em>

**Reily96:** DUN WORRY ABOUT IT! I am the worst these days with reading things I can't even begin to describe...  
>DesPonte is my second favorite wizzrobe after Thistle (because Thistle will always be my favorite birdface), but DesPonte is so fun to write in his own crazy way. He's actually based off of my old chemistry professor who spoke exactly like him...<br>haha well I don't know about _soon _soon, but mass error and destruction via Vaati impending :D


	15. What Lies Beneath the Cave of Trials

fleets: I actually managed to finish this chapter fairly early :D The only downside is that it's definitely not as long as the other chapter. :(  
>Was pretty excited to finally get to this point in the story; you'll find out why :)<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 15: What Lies Beneath the Cave of Trials<strong>

Vaati and the young Princess Ambi had called it a day after clearing exactly seventy five floors in a single day. There were so many floors in the dungeon, all of them looking exactly identical to the last, that it was easy to lose count how far down they had gone, but Ambi had kept track by carving notches into a discarded orange peel. They were resting now, with Ambi snuggled into a blanket she'd packed in her bag, and Vaati laying several feet away from her, his own blanket rolled up into a pillow under his head and his hat tilted over his face so that it covered his eyes. Even though Vaati seemed to have fallen asleep almost immediately, Ambi found it difficult to relax and close her eyes.

She stared at the sorcerer wonderingly. She had been nervous at first about recruiting his help, and there had been many moments where she'd had second thoughts about talking to him. Still, now that they'd finally come to some sort of agreement on working together, she was glad she'd asked for help. Progress through the Cave of Trials had been unnaturally quick, especially because of Vaati's status. Any monsters they encountered immediately recognized him, and left them alone to go on to the next level below without a fight.

_He's so different than I imagined him to be,_ she thought as she peered over at the sleeping figure. As a Hylian, he looked no different than the other pointy-eared youths that one could encounter in the region, with the exception that he was paler than most and usually had the most awful expression on his face. The story about the evil wind mage was so famous that even residents of Labrynna had heard of him, and based on those stories she'd expected some kind of horrible old man with drool dripping between his pointed teeth, his sharp fingernails yellowed from handling evil potions and his nose wrinkled into a permanent snarl. Instead, Vaati had ended up being a young man a few years older than her in appearance (probably close to Zelda's age?), actually pretty handsome, and with the personality of a bratty man-child with too much privilege, not unlike the snobby noble boys that occasionally visited her brother, Roland.

Vaati had actually ended up talking quite a bit during their steady descent into the numerous floors of the Cave of Trials, and Ambi had picked up a few things about his personality then. She'd learned that he was extremely talkative, and loved talking about himself. If he wasn't talking about himself, then he was probably complaining or describing how much he hated something. Ambi wasn't sure if she'd ever met anyone who was more in love with the sound of his own voice than Vaati was. She identified him as narcissistic, perhaps out of some kind of deep-rooted insecurity, especially since he seemed to need to emphasize how he achieved his greatness through his power alone (almost to the point where she had to question whether the opposite was true). She also found that he was bad at dealing with situations when things didn't go his way, and would react to them by being completely immature. Whenever Ambi wanted to take a few extra minutes to check the room closely for any clues, Vaati would become irritable and impatient (or… more irritable and impatient than normal), and proceed to amuse himself by blowing up little pebbles in the most annoying way. It was a difficult day for them both… the few times she felt grateful for the sorcerer's presence was when he'd take a step in front of her, shielding her with an arm if any of the monsters got a little too close.

In all honesty, the fourteen year old Ambi was much, much more mature than this "I'm at least a thousand years older than you so don't tell me what to do" Sorcerer of Winds Vaati. Ambi was much more mature than most fourteen year olds, but even then, Vaati had been ridiculous.

He was more like a spoiled brat than the spawn of evil, and actually seeing him one on one made her understand what Zelda had meant when she once tried explaining to her why she let Vaati remain in Hyrule. At first, Ambi had been extremely concerned about Zelda, especially since she considered Zelda to be the older sister she'd never had. She'd argued with Zelda at first, trying to get her to understand that she deserved so much more than an undoubtedly abusive evil sorcerer who everyone hated. The conversation had happened a little less than a year ago, and Ambi had cornered Zelda during her visit to Labrynna.

"You need to leave him!" she'd insisted, but Zelda had only shook her head with a sad kind of laugh that indicated she was used to that kind of statement. The discussion had gone nowhere, but Ambi had reluctantly backed off when Zelda finally said that it was none of her business, and that she didn't know Vaati like she did.

_I know him better than you do. _

Ambi sighed. She'd repeated those same words earlier in the day when Vaati had accused her brother of being the great mastermind behind the plague and apparently Zelda's memory loss. It was clear to her now that Zelda cared for the sorcerer deeply, maybe as much as she cared about her brother. Maybe Zelda even loved him? Is that what love was? Her brother always told her to stop worrying about boys because she was too young to understand what love was, but she thought she knew what it was supposed to look like. She saw it in parents and their children, between friends, and between couples. Looking back on all the times Zelda described Vaati to her, the way she talked about his childish tendencies (but not in the same negative way Ambi saw them as "bratty"), and the way she laughed as she talked about his quirks and his habits, Ambi could see that Zelda cared. Someone who wasn't in love couldn't talk about all of Vaati's negative habits (all of the suffering that she had to endure today) as affectionately as Zelda had done. Seriously, what was so cute about someone who went on and on and on about how much better he was than everyone else?

Ambi frowned and then she buried her face deeper into her covers when Vaati shifted in his sleep. She peeked out again, wondering if he'd caught her staring, and then breathed a sigh of relief when it was clear he was still asleep.

Alright, so Zelda definitely loved him. But then, what about Vaati?

That was what Ambi couldn't understand. During all of the hours Vaati had spent talking about himself today, not a single word was mentioned about Zelda. It had actually been so conspicuously absent, that Ambi wondered if he'd been deliberately avoiding talking about her. She remembered his brief wince earlier in the day when she'd brought up the princess in conversation: it had been a flash of anger so terrible that the princess had decided not to bring it up ever again.

However, behind that anger had undoubtedly been hurt. It was a look so devastating that Ambi would have felt guilty of bringing it up again. She'd seen that look before – once when she'd asked Roland what their mother had been like. She hadn't asked Roland that question again.

"What are you looking at?"

Ambi jumped, startled. Vaati was no longer asleep, and he'd pushed his cap up over his eyes and was watching her critically. "Oh! Uh, nothing!" she said hurriedly.

"I have one of my sentries watching you, so don't try anything. You're still Roland's sister so don't think I trust you," Vaati warned, "it just told me you were staring at me for close to twenty minutes now."

Embarrassed, Ambi flipped over in her covers so that her back was to the sorcerer. She mumbled an "Okay," and pretended to go to sleep.

XXXXXXXXX

The sun was setting over castle town, and the majority of the people were retiring to their homes to have dinner with their families. Well, whatever people who had families to go back to: many of the families were devastated by the plague, and nearly all of the homes had someone missing from the dinner table. Many people wore expressions of fatigue and worry, and some of fear as they ducked between the shadows of the roofs while watching the sky: it was said that the Helmaroc King had been spotted flying over castle town again recently after a week of absence.

In one of the corners of castle town, an elderly woman lived alone. She expected no visitors, but tonight there was a knock on the door. She ignored it at first, but the knocking was persistent, and eventually she opened the door just a crack to see what the visitor wanted. "Yes?" she asked cautiously, barely opening the door enough for the visitor to see her face.

To her surprise, it was none other than the guardian of the royal family, Impa. She was no longer wearing her Sheikah uniform, but was instead in plain clothes that wouldn't make her stand out in town. "May I have a word?" the Sheikah asked.

The old lady gasped in surprise, and then hurriedly began to close the door. "I have… things to attend to! Come back another-"

"It's about the miniblin residing in your home."

The door stopped closing. "Y-you… know about that do you?" the lady asked, somewhat horrified. When Impa nodded slowly, she ushered the Sheikah inside. "Quickly, I don't want to discuss this outside."

As soon as the door closed behind them, the elderly lady put her hands against her head, clearly distressed. Impa recognized her as the same person who had approached Zelda a while back, the same one who had talked about being glad the curse on the princess had been lifted. Impa remembered her talking about how her grandchildren used to help her with the firewood before they'd been affected by the plague, and noted with interest how the fireplace was still burning and was still completely stocked with firewood.

"Please don't tell anyone about this!" the old lady suddenly clasped Impa's hands in hers, her expression ridden with guilt and panic. "If the neighbors find out, they'll accuse me of being in league with the monsters and I'll, and I'll-"

"Please calm down," Impa explained gently, and indicated to the lady to have a seat by the fire. Then, she gave a small smile, "I actually didn't know there was a miniblin in residence here."

The lady looked up, surprised. "Then how?"

Impa shrugged. "I've been doing some investigating myself, and I've noticed that there seemed to be several households with monster residents. Miniblins and poes seem to be the majority of the ones that are staying inside people's homes from what I've gathered, so it was just a good guess."

The woman sighed heavily. She hobbled over to the seat offered by Impa and huddled close to the fire, wrapping the light gray shawl that hung over her shoulders closer to herself. Still looking at her feet, she asked quietly, "Am I to be punished?"

Impa shook her head no, to which the elderly lady appeared relieved. However, her forehead was still lined with worried creases, ones she'd earned when she'd lost all of her family to the plague. It was a look Impa had become all too familiar in seeing as she'd gone from door to door making inquiries. "What is your name?" Impa asked.

The woman stirred, and then pulled the shawl tighter around herself. "Martha," she said quietly. She was quiet for a while, and she had her back against the fire almost as though she didn't want to see it. Now that her admission about the miniblin was known to Impa, the guardian could see signs here and there of another inhabitant in the home. There was a spare plate on the table with some food crumbs, and a wooden box with blankets and pillows that looked like something had curled up in it like a cat. The window in the far side of the room was unlocked, and there was a stepstool leading up to it as though a shorter creature could use it as a safe way to enter and leave without knocking anything down. Impa turned back to Martha when she heard a small, troubled chuckle. "I didn't like those darned things," Martha laughed softly, "I didn't like it my house. I still don't like it, but it won't leave me alone, almost as though it were working on some unbreakable command. I would never have known that the thing had been hanging about this house if I hadn't become curious as to how my firewood was replenishing itself."

Impa didn't say anything, and instead listened in silence. It didn't seem like the old lady wanted a conversation parther – she seemed to be talking more to herself.

Martha stood up again, and hobbled over to the kitchen where there was a kettle of water. It was already cool from sitting out for too long, but it seemed like she wanted something to occupy her hands more than an actual drink. She absentmindedly started making tea, even though tea with lukewarm water was often a terrible idea. "At first, I thought it must have been an act of kindness by the goddesses. My family has always followed the goddesses' teachings devoutly, and I thought the firewood was their way of helping those of us who follow the light. I thought it was some kind of message that my daughter and grandchildren would wake from the plague soon," she said, watching the teabag floating inside the cup she'd poured. "My foolish curiosity got the better of me, and one night I decided to sleep beside the fireplace to see how the wood was renewing itself every night. It was then that I first saw it, sneaking about the place like an oversized rat. I shouted at it in fright – it was so grotesque with its bulging eyes, and it was carrying a pitchfork! – and then it ran away back up the chimney. It dropped a bunch of logs on its way up, though, and that's how I found out that it wasn't some kind of divine intervention that had been helping me, but some kind of ironic prank."

The water in the cup was still only a light shade of brown. Martha bobbed the teabag a few times, and then sighed tiredly, pouring the lukewarm tea down the drain in distracted wastefulness. She set the kettle away, and then finally looked towards Impa who'd been listening patiently for the entire time. "I don't like it, but it's grown on me, you know? Do you think I'm… is this the princess's curse?"

At this, Impa laughed sadly. "There's many more who are affected by the 'curse' than you might realize. You would be surprised how many are out there who are in the same situation as you. The plague has claimed many – people are not picky about the help they receive during these trying times."

Martha's eyes widened in surprise, and then her gaze lowered in shame. "Maybe..." she started hesitantly, having difficulty forming her thoughts into words, "maybe we were wrong." She glanced at Impa as though hoping for some kind of disagreement, but the guardian only looked out at the window sadly, giving no indication on what she thought of the matter. It was only then that Martha wondered what Zelda's guardian was doing outside the castle dressed like a commoner; Impa's gaze was looking far away towards the castle, as though there was something there that she could no longer reach.

"Wouldn't it be cruel," Martha wondered slowly, walking over to Impa and looking out at the window with her, "if the plague was the goddesses punishing us for not believing in the princess?"

Impa tore her gaze away from the castle and instead looked down at her feet. "If that is so," she murmured, "then perhaps we deserve it."

XXXXXXXXX

"Wake up."

Vaati prodded the sleeping girl with his foot, and when she didn't wake immediately, he rolled her over with his foot roughly. Ambi groaned, and then mumbled a half-asleep complaint to Roland, telling him to let her sleep in. The mention of Roland's name made Vaati scowl in annoyance, and he finally gave her a small kick in the ribs to which she immediately woke with an offended "Ow!"

"It's morning," the sorcerer said simply, and then began to make his way to the hole in the middle of the chamber that led to the seventy sixth floor.

Ambi looked around at the still-dark room where the only light source was the torches. She still felt extremely sleepy, like she'd only had four hours of sleep. "How do you know it's morning?" she asked groggily.

"Because it just is. Now I don't really want to spend any more time with you so the sooner we get to the bottom of the cave, the faster I can leave you," Vaati muttered irritably.

Ambi scratched her head with a frown on her face, and then hurriedly brushed back her now-more-than-slightly wild hair away from her eyes. She sighed at the explosion of hair around her face. She couldn't wait to get back to the palace where the maids could help her do something about it. In the meantime, she ran her fingers through it and threw over her cloth hood to hide most of the bedhead. Vaati was right. The faster they made it to the bottom of the Cave of Trials, the faster they could finish their errand here. "Alright, let's go."

They made it quickly through, floor after floor, and Ambi noticed that their pace was faster than their progress yesterday. She even realized that she was becoming more lax about looking for clues on each floor, more eager than ever to reach the bottom of the cave. The more floors they passed, the more convinced she became that if they were to find anything, it would be on the last floor of the dungeon. Vaati no longer spoke much either, as though he were anticipating the final floor of the Cave of Trials as well. He'd only wait two to three minutes for Ambi before he'd start to tap his finger against something impatiently, and then would disappear into the next floor.

They eventually came upon the 99th floor, according to the count Ambi had been keeping. The young princess of Labrynna inched away from the three powerful darknuts that stood silently in the shadows, and she peered down the hole in the floor that allegedly led to the last floor. Even though progress through the cave had been fairly easy thanks to Vaati (none of the monsters ever attacked them), it had been pretty exhausting to make it this far. She thought with a shudder how crazy one would have to be to make it all the way down while fighting monsters along the way. She bit her lip reluctantly, remembering now her argument with Roland earlier to send in some soldiers to investigate the Cave of Trials, and a part of her understood where her brother may have been coming from. Now that she'd cleared 99 floors, it was easy to see that the Cave of Trials was not someplace people normally left alive.

"Finally, the last floor," Vaati said loudly, a sigh embedded in the last word. He looked down at the hole with Ambi. "I'm going to be more than mildly annoyed if we don't find anything," he muttered, "waste of my time."

"At the very least, we can ask the Great Fairy if she's noticed anything strange in the cave for the past few weeks," Ambi assured the sorcerer.

Vaati rolled his eyes. "Because I _really_ enjoy the company of fairies. It's not like they've ever prevented me from killing Link for, oh, three times now I think," he said sarcastically. Then he jumped into the hole leaving Ambi alone on the 99th floor.

Just as Ambi was about to jump down after him for the last time, she heard an infuriated shout and Vaati sputtering incoherently. She hesitated in fright, wondering just what it could be that could set off the normally cool sorcerer like that: she hadn't seen Vaati lose his composure like that for all 99 floors prior, even though they'd been surrounded by some of the region's worst monsters. "Are you okay?" she shouted, and then she decided to go down when she heard Vaati scream a loud "YOU!"

Ambi could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and when she landed on the dirt below she stumbled from how hurriedly she'd jumped down. There was someone else down here. Someone Vaati knew. Who was it?

As she scanned the room, she noticed someone else standing in front of the clear blue pool of the Great Fairy. She couldn't see the person's face just yet, but the dark silhouette that was outlined by the faint glow from the pool was something she remembered seeing a few weeks back. It was the hooded figure she'd seen entering the Cave of Trials both times when the plague had hit Labrynna and Hyrule. Her eyes then moved to the flask in the person's hand, and then she noticed that they were still pouring something vile into the Great Fairy's pool.

The pool was a deep red where the liquid from the flask touched the water, before it turned back to clear a little more downstream – no one would be able to tell the poison was there. She was about to say something to Vaati, but then she noticed something else in the pool. The Great Fairy was lying in her own pool, and from the looks of it she wasn't conscious. Her iridescent wings were floating on the surface of the water, and her silvery green hair was now wet and matted against her marble skin. "What did you do to her?_!_" Ambi cried, running up to the stranger. She stumbled forward when Vaati reached over and grabbed her wrist firmly, preventing her from taking another step. The princess was about to protest, but the look on his face quieted her immediately. It was a look that suggested it would be a very regretful mistake to mess with him right now.

"Hmmm, hmm? Oh, hello Lord Vaati. Fancy meeting you here," the hooded figure waved a hand casually. His voice was somewhat muffled, and it was because of a large, birdlike mask that covered his entire face.

A small crack of a smile that grew wider and wider appeared on Vaati's face until it was something close to a snarl. It didn't seem like he could hear Ambi asking him to let go of her arm because he was now squeezing it with a vice grip, and sparks jumped between the fingers of his free hand that was now contorted and claw-like. His voice betrayed no anger, however - the calm before the storm.

"Wizzrobe scum, to think you were involved in this all along," he said quietly in a way that was too pleasant to be genuine. Vaati's eyes flashed viciously for a split second in the dim light of the cave. "DesPonte."

* * *

><p>fleets: What is going on here? DesPonte escaped Vaati's wrath once, will he escape it twice? :P<br>And some of you might be thinking, "oh pffft DesPonte is just going to be another Thistle repeat isn't he..." and to that I say "(the-following-has-been-censored-because-spoilers)!"  
>I probably can't say much else here in the chapter-end notes because I might give things away on accident, ha.<br>Thanks again for reading this far!

**Sorceress V: **Haha well it's still a little too early in the story for any real fights to break out just yet :P  
>The reason why Manhandla would be able to tell Vaati who the culprit is, is because the poison Zelda was affected by was from the swamp Manhandla lives in. Vaati visited the swamp because he thought Manhandla would be able to tell him some clues, but found it dead instead - he came to the conclusion that it was killed so it couldn't speak what it knew ;)<p>

**Lord Siravant: **ShenaniGanon. That. Is. An. Amazing. Word.

**MasterShortPantsx3: **I like to think of Ambi being kind of in a kid-sister kind of relationship at the moment. :)

**Lmb111514:** Hello! Thanks for dropping by! I'm glad you like it so far, and that the story hasn't been too painful despite Zelda forgetting everything for a while there :P

**Peregrine: **I like to keep people guessing ;) Oh I'll definitely get to Link and Elise soonish! I haven't written about those two in a looong time huh

**salmaawesome: **Yes I'm back! I'm not dead! And I'll probably keep coming back until this story reaches the final chapter :)

**Aerois: **You know, I don't think I've written a story so far with Vaati with a real female friend. Although... it's kind of hard to write him with any gendered bestie since, like, he hates all the things XD jk (kind of)  
>Yeah it would be too easy now right? But maybe I just really want you guys to think it'll be too easy so you think it's not him, but it really is?<em>!<em> OR ISN'T IT?_! _lol sorry it's been really hard for me to be quiet about how all of this is going to unravel D:  
>Aw, thanks. Well if I ever get around to it, I'll definitely let all of my followers know in some form or other :)<p>

**eureka93:** Having both games makes it really great because you get to unlock an extra ending in the second game you play, where you have to rescue Zelda after you rescued Din/Nayru. You also get a bunch of extra quests and items with codes you get from one game, so that was pretty neat :)  
>It was DesPonte XD of course it has to be a wizzrobe to screw things up!<p>

**GamerxOtaku: **I hope that was unexpected enough :P (a;skdjf;lskdjf thank you i fangirl over all of your comments all the time)


	16. Provocation

fleets: It's COLD D:  
>I hope you lovely lovely readers have been staying cozy :)<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 16: Provocation<strong>

Vaati's mind wasn't thinking clearly as he glared at the wizzrobe. He could feel the blood boil under his skin, and he became more infuriated the more he saw the wizzrobe look back with his careless, inquisitive tilt of the head like there was nothing particularly wrong with whatever it was he was doing. All Vaati could think of was how he'd been with the wizzrobe earlier, actually letting his guard down thinking DesPonte wasn't a suspect because he'd helped him get the cure to Zelda's memory loss. The nerve of that stinking robe to think he could get away with pretending to know nothing about the cause of the plague! His mind went white with anger when he vaguely remembered DesPonte's words just before Vaati had left him.

_Ah, Lord Vaati, have you heard of the plague in Hyrule? Interesting topic. Intriguing. Wonder what caused it, yes?_

DesPonte was saying something from the way he waved his hands in casual conversation, but Vaati couldn't hear him. A shockwave of darkness erupted through the room, the light of the pool fading completely and melting into an ominous purple glow. A shout, a scream, Vaati couldn't hear them. He teleported behind DesPonte, gripping him with his hands which had morphed into black claws, and slammed the helpless wizzrobe into the wall. The wizzrobe was smashed from one wall to the next while Vaati screamed in rage.

A flash of blinding light pierced through the darkness, dispelling it as it parted the air. The wall crumbled. The dust settled. Vaati was panting, his crimson eyes full of madness but he seemed to gradually come to his senses. He stared at the slightly limp wizzrobe in his claws, and then flung him into the pool distastefully. "Don't try to stop me," he snarled, turning on Princess Ambi who was holding another light arrow frightfully in her hands.

Ambi dropped her arrow, and against Vaati's wishes ran to where DesPonte was weakly coughing up water. Then, she slowly turned around to face Vaati, her face pale and without color. "Vaati if… this is… Vaati if we kill him then we won't have a cure for the plague," she croaked, and for several seconds she seemed to be struggling about revealing something she knew. She turned her head away, averting her gaze, scared of how Vaati might react. "Vaati this is… this is Labrynna's alchemist."

"You hired a _wizzrobe?_" Vaati hissed. Everything was beginning to make sense, and he remembered how Zelda had told him that Labrynna would lend them their alchemist to cure the plague if Hyrule managed to get rid of him. That alchemist was DesPonte. The darkness began to return, and he looked ready to kill them both immediately. His eyes were crazed, mistrusting. Princess Ambi tried to protect DesPonte just now – what if she was actually in on this whole thing too? He should get rid of them both.

"We didn't have a choice!" Ambi cried, afraid of Vaati, "he was the only one who had a cure for Labrynna, and we were desperate!"

"And you didn't think _he_ was the one who caused the plague in the first place?" Vaati shot, taking an intimidating step forward.

"I-I couldn't have known that he would do something like this," Ambi backed away from the sorcerer. Then, she turned towards the wizzrobe who was holding on to the side of his head, still looking somewhat dazed. "What did you do to the Great Fairy?_!_" she demanded.

DesPonte groaned, trying to recover from Vaati's ruthless outburst from earlier. He seemed genuinely confused why he deserved such treatment, and returned a somewhat offended gaze. He looked at the shattered flask on the ground and gave a loud, tired sigh. "Hmmm, hmmm, that hurt. Oh no need to worry, she's only asleep," he mumbled.

"Who cares about the fairy, I'm more interested in the fact that he's responsible for the plague that conveniently put blame on _my_ head," Vaati interjected, and he seemed ready to give DesPonte another introduction to the cavern walls.

"We don't know if he's responsible for the plague yet," Ambi said hurriedly, trying to prevent Vaati from killing the wizzrobe just yet. She could feel the hair stand on the back of her neck with DesPonte's next words. He said it casually, like a statement of fact and with nothing to hide.

"I'm responsible for the plague. Both plagues," he shrugged, sitting up in the pool and watching the water soak into his robe. He picked himself up, his robes heavy with water, and he limped over to the edge of the pool to somewhere drier. As he sloshed his way over, he seemed to be talking to himself and completely ignored the young princess who had been shocked into silence. "I was just checking to make sure the water would still affect any visitors to Hyrule as well. Must be thorough. Always thorough."

"Why_?_!" Ambi cried.

"Because the king of Labrynna asked nicely."

The silence that followed was so stifling that time seemed to stop inside the Great Fairy's chamber. DesPonte was the only one who was unaffected, and continued to squeeze the water out of his clothes, twisting the hem of his robe and watching puddles form under his feet. He didn't seem to notice Ambi and Vaati staring at him in disbelief.

_I knew it, _Vaati thought to himself, but he didn't say anything and only moved his eyes towards Princess Ambi who appeared as petrified as when he'd turned her to stone. He watched her carefully now, waiting to see how she would handle the news. He'd brought her down here just to see this reaction, when her naïve trust of her brother was broken. He'd wanted to see it: the despair that emerged when trust was broken. A part of him wondered why he'd even bothered wasting his time with the girl, when he could have left her in Labrynna and gone to explore the Cave of Trials by himself. Another part of him knew why, though – knew why he wanted so badly to destroy her blind trust and faith.

She'd reminded him of a different Vaati: the young apprentice who'd been an idiot, and stupidly trusting and optimistic about people. Her ill-founded trust in her brother reminded him too much of how a different Vaati had once blindly held on to the belief that Ezlo would actually see him as a worthy mage, even though months and months passed where Ezlo indicated otherwise. He'd wanted to punish her for being so naïve, just like he'd punished that other Vaati by destroying that part of his identity. A bitter smile surfaced as he watched her despair unfold. Ambi looked back at him for a moment, as though pleading for someone to tell her that it wasn't true, but she was only greeted with a cold, merciless grin from Vaati.

"He promised me rupees in exchange. It's helped me a great deal in trying to figure out where rupees come from," DesPonte explained, apparently unaware of the amount of distress he was causing the princess. DesPonte's voice finally shook Ambi out of her stupor, and she began to shout, her hands and knees shaking as she whirled away from Vaati and rounded on the wizzrobe instead.

"NO! He can't be! You're lying!"

The wizzrobe was beginning to look annoyed. "Hmm, but I don't lie," he responded calmly.

Ambi stormed over to the wizzrobe who was still sitting by the edge of the pool. Any reservations she might have had earlier because he was a monster was completely gone, and she boldly went up to him and shook him by the shoulders. "You're a liar! My brother would never do anything like that! _You're a liar!"_

_Denial only lasts for so long,_ Vaati thought, watching Ambi's despair unfold in front of him. She shouldn't have been so naïve. He was doing her a favor. He watched as she continued to shake the wizzrobe angrily, demanding that he take back his words. _It's unlikely the princess knew anything about this after all…_ he concluded, _her brother is an entirely different story, however._

"I am not a liar," the wizzrobe insisted. He pulled out a folded letter from within his robes, and offered it to Ambi. "That's a letter from the king."

Ambi flinched away from the letter offered to her, as though touching it would shatter the last hope she had that her brother wasn't involved. Even as she finally reached for the letter she struggled to take it, her head turning away from it though her eyes remained on it as she took it in her hands. There was a sharp intake of breath when she finally opened the letter; though the paper was stained and discolored from chemical spills, she could still recognize the handwriting. She'd seen it before when she'd helped run errands for her brother, she'd seen it when they wrote letters together to wish their good friend Maple the witch a happy birthday, and she'd seen it when she'd received cards from him when he'd left on long trips to distant kingdoms.

The letter was from Roland. What made it worse was that it was a letter telling "The Alchemist" to execute The Hyrule Cessation.

The letter crumpled in Ambi's hands, and she asked softly, her hands shaking. "What is The Hyrule Cessation?" she whispered, "this can't have been from my brother. You made it up. You're lying."

"I don't like that you accuse me of being a liar," DesPonte grumbled. Then, in a swift movement he pushed her away and summoned a small fireball that flared in the palms of his hands. It would have hit the girl squarely in the chest at such close range, but before the ex-Fire Wizzrobe could do any real damage, Vaati stepped in and blocked his attack. The sorcerer broke them up with a look that clearly said "that's enough."

"You didn't think to tell me about this earlier?" Vaati rounded on the wizzrobe once he got Ambi out of the way.

"You never asked," DesPonte explained matter-of-factly. "Nicely." The wizzrobe inched away from Vaati, when the sorcerer leaned forward menacingly. "Hmm, I'll make the cure for Lord Vaati. I will make no further dealings with the king of Labrynna, you have my word."

Vaati grabbed DesPonte by the throat and pulled him back so that their faces were only inches away. "I'm going to lock you up in your shack so you can never leave, and then I'm going to beat the living daylights out of the king of Labrynna and his rotten kingdom." He pushed the wizzrobe backwards, making him fall back into the water, and then turned sharply towards Princess Ambi who was standing behind him, dazed. "And I told you I was right. You're a fool to trust someone like that."

Ambi didn't seem to hear him. It looked as though she wanted to cry, from the way her eyes crinkled and stared out ahead with an empty gaze, but there were no tears. Instead, she swayed somewhat, and she repeated quietly, "You're lying." Her words choked up in her throat.

Anger bubbled up in Vaati's voice again as he started to become annoyed by the princess's shocked repetitions that everything was a lie. "Face it," he growled, "you were wrong. Now admit that you were wrong." With that, he changed back into his monster form, grabbing DesPonte with his claws and crushing him to submission. "_I am done here."_

Vaati's words seem to strike a chord with the princess, and she immediately broke out of her stupor. Her eyes widened at Vaati's retreating back as he readied to fly towards the surface. "Wait, no!" she cried, "you can't go to Roland! I won't let you!"

At this Vaati glanced back briefly, his eye peering under his wings. "_Oh? So now you're going to stop me?_" he whirled around, facing the girl completely with his terrible gaze, "_Well aren't you a liar, saying you'd take me to him before? You're pressing your luck._"

"I can't let you go, you're going to hurt him!"

"_And so what if I am? He's the one behind all of this! He's behind the plague you were so worried about, and he's undoubtedly behind Zelda's memory loss. You're a fool if you think I'm going to let him get away with this!"_ Vaati snapped angrily. He whipped one of his wings towards Ambi, making her fall backwards onto the ground. To his surprise, the princess didn't give up, and she stood up shakily, a light arrow gleaming between her fingers.

"It is true he might have done wrong," she finally admitted, each word spoken painfully, "your evidence points in his direction. But he's the only family I have left. I love my brother, and I won't let you hurt him."

For a few seconds, Vaati stared at the arrow pointed at his eye in stunned silence. Then, he shook his claw, upset at her boldness. "_You shouldn't be defending him, you idiot! He kept things from you, lied to you, made you believe you could trust him and played you for a fool! You should be angry and enraged, not defendi-"_

"I _am_ angry!" Ambi interrupted him sharply. Her outburst was so forceful that even Vaati's booming voice was immediately quieted. Seemingly startled by her own voice, Ambi faltered, and then started again, much more quietly. "I am angry," she repeated in nearly a whisper, "and I want to… to… to hit him, hard, for doing such terrible things to Hyrule, if he really is the one behind all of this. But at the end of the day, he's still my brother, and I won't stand for anyone harming him. Especially you." She stopped for a few seconds, then, as though she were thinking back on everything Vaati had done. Her controlled features suddenly contorted into an emotional outburst of illogical anger; the last pieces of her carefully crafted image as a princess finally breaking. She was no longer a princess, but a fourteen year old girl. "It's all your fault," she said, her voice quivering in laced anger, "it's all your fault! None of this would have happened if it weren't for you! I would never have found out that my brother might have… might have… I would have never doubted my brother if it weren't for you! I wish you'd just disappear! _I hate you!"_

There was another pause, as the sorcerer seemed to consider Ambi's words carefully. The great black eye was narrowed in a stern slit of scrutiny, and anyone without a strong backbone would have wavered under that gaze. The princess of Labrynna, however, didn't. She was desperate. Vaati remembered his first encounter with Ambi, and it almost seemed like the monster eye was grinning.

_Desperation. I like that look. _

Instead, he said nothing, and simply grabbed Ambi without warning in his other claw. She screamed and protested, but he gave her a warning squeeze with his huge claws and she immediately became quiet in defeat. In his other hand, DesPonte simply watched the entire exchange, knowing full well that there was no use going against Vaati, the infamous Sorcerer of Winds.

XXXXXXXXXXX

They took DesPonte and locked him up in his home. The wizzrobe was peculiarly calm about it, not seeming bothered in the least. He chalked it up to bad luck, and reassured the sorcerer that he would now cooperate with him since Vaati had asked. Nicely. Which essentially meant that Vaati had threatened to beat him to a pulp if he didn't do what he was told and make the cure to the plague immediately. Therefore, DesPonte only watched and waved amiably from inside his new prison as Vaati set up a barrier that could only be broken from the outside.

If it weren't for the plague, and if it weren't for the fact that Zelda wanted to save everyone, he probably would have killed DesPonte right then and there. He'll come back for that troublesome wizzrobe later, because right now there was someone else he needed to see.

Roland.

_I never did like him, _Vaati thought as he flew back towards Labrynna. He was back in his monster form, and the princess was quiet as she looked out at the horizon from his claws. He remembered back to the time when he first saw Roland, right before this entire mess had occurred. He'd been walking alongside Zelda, a wiry man whose back was hunched ever so slightly like he'd been living his entire life carrying a burden too heavy for someone like him to hold. He'd looked like someone who, although perhaps once proud and noble, had been forced into a corner with the weight of all the responsibility that comes with royalty, and was ready to give up. A man pushed to that kind of corner would try anything.

"So? Aren't you going to laugh at me?"

Vaati glanced towards the princess of Labrynna. She was still looking straight ahead, so that Vaati could only see the back of her hooded head.

"This is what you wanted," Ambi insisted. She still seemed somewhat embarrassed by her earlier outburst. It was almost like she wanted him to laugh and sneer at her – his silence felt like pity, which was even worse.

"_It was the truth_," Vaati stated simply. The air thudded against his wings as another awkward silence settled between them.

There was something else that she seemed to be bothered by, and she fidgeted somewhat within Vaati's claws. Finally, after a long pause, she sighed heavily. "Why did you decide to take me with you?" she asked, "aren't you worried I'll stop you from hurting Roland?"

At this, Vaati couldn't help but burst out in laughter. Ambi turned to look at him momentarily, offended by his snickers, before she turned her back to him again and proceeded to pout. "_Hahaha! You? Stop me? How stupid," _he tutted, "_You're coming with me because it'll be much more satisfying when your dear brother realizes I've turned you against him too." _

"I'm _not_ going to turn against him, I told you that," Ambi replied stubbornly.

"_He'll see you with me. That'll be more than enough." _

Ambi muttered something unprincesslike under her breath, along with another declaration of hate directed towards the sorcerer. Vaati seemed to snicker in his infuriating way, briefly, before he lapsed into another thoughtful silence. Eventually, as they came into view of Labrynna far in the distance, he said, "_I'm not going to kill Roland." _

Ambi lifted her head in surprise, and she stared at the sorcerer, wondering if she'd heard him right. She seemed to want to ask him "why?" but was afraid of changing his mind, so instead kept staring at him, hoping for some kind of elaboration.

He glanced at her briefly, and then went back to looking straight at the castle town in the distance ahead of him. "_It was never my intention to kill him. Zelda wouldn't want me to." _

Ambi said nothing, but turned around, resting her chin against her arm, the corners of her eyes softening.

Vaati continued, irritably, "_Labrynna owes Zelda an enormous debt, you know," _he said, "_if it weren't for her, I would have ruined the entire kingdom by now." _

"I see," Ambi said quietly. She appeared more relaxed, now, after learning that her brother wouldn't be killed.

"_You better reward Hyrule handsomely to show you're thankful that Zelda saved you from the Sorcerer of Winds," _he insisted when she went quiet again. "_She's the only reason why I haven't killed you all yet."_

At this, Ambi blinked. Was she just imagining things? Was it just her imagination, or was Vaati actually trying to help Zelda? Granted it was a twisted, childish way to go about it of course, but was it really…? She stared at the hideous, gigantic black eye with its bloodshot red eye that was holding her with its huge, lethal claws.

"_And just because I do something that Labrynna doesn't like, you shouldn't blame it on Zelda. She doesn't give me orders. She actually can't do anything about what I do, so if I do something you have a problem with, then don't you dare give her trouble because I will be extremely angry," _he added huffily, "_That's what infuriates me about this whole mess. You all had a problem with ME and yet you were too much of a coward to come out and say it so you decided to give Zelda trouble instead. Pitiful."_

Ambi's brows furrowed as she tried to put it all together. "Wait… so you're saying Zelda's keeping you from being violent but at the same time Zelda has no control over what you're doing so…" she trailed off.

"_What's your point."_

"You just contradicted… never mind."

At that moment, she thought she finally understood Vaati and Zelda. When Vaati was avoiding mentioning Zelda, it wasn't that he didn't like her. No, Zelda liked him, she was sure of that. She was pretty sure he liked her back, too. One of them was too butt-hurt about something to show it though.

Suddenly, Ambi wasn't worried anymore about what might happen to Roland. Vaati would keep his word: he wouldn't kill him.

"_What's so funny?"_ Vaati snarled when he noticed that the princess was suddenly smiling. "_Labrynna will pay if it doesn't give Hyrule back what it deserves._"

"Nothing," Ambi replied, still smiling, "I'm just glad."

"_About what?_!_"_

She shook her head with her smile. It wasn't something that could have been explained. It was a gut feeling. A princess's gut feeling.

XXXXXXXXX

"Just one more left, everyone! One more! I want to see some excitement!"

"This isn't exactly fun and exciting, Elise," Blue grumbled as they trudged onwards to their next destination. They were currently in a large field, making their way to a temple somewhere near a swamp. The four Links led the way while Elise shouted about adventure and excitement in what she assumed would keep their spirits up. "We're only doing this because we're the only ones who _can_ do this. None of us actually want to go on a life-threatening mission to fight one of the most powerful sorcerers in history."

"You mean _the most powerful sorcerer_," Vio muttered behind him, just barely audible. Green heard him, and he snickered from the other boy's almost perfect imitation of Vaati's arrogant voice.

"Oh come on, Blue, Elise has a point," Red chimed in, completely missing the eye-rolls from the remaining three Links. "We might as well keep our heads up while we're adventuring together! We'll have a long week of celebrating once we're done!"

There was an unenthusiastic "Yaaay," from Blue, while Red and Elise happily discussed all of the fun things that they would plan after all of this was over. Out of all the Links, Red got along with Elise the most, while the rest was beginning to tire of Elise's drivel about friendship conquering all, light always prevailing, and other canned statements about the goddesses watching over them. Maybe once upon a time Green would have welcomed that kind of talk, but ever since last year when he'd tried to rescue Zelda from Vaati, he could no longer appreciate such things. The look that Zelda had given him when he'd thought he'd 'broken her curse' still haunted him sometimes; that look of crushing despair and hopelessness…

"Eeek! What's that horrid thing flying over there?_!_"

The sudden shriek from Elise made everyone stop and turn to see what she was pointing at. Red, who had been talking to her earlier, was also nervously looking up at the sky, where there was a dark shadow streaking through the clouds. Even from their distance, Green could tell that the thing was fairly large, and undoubtedly one of the boss monsters judging from its size.

Vio calmly started walking again in the direction they'd been walking in earlier. "Don't bother with it. It doesn't seem to be causing trouble, and we have to keep moving to get the last element for the Four Sword." He pushed past Blue and Green who were still watching the flying monster, and continued to walk, brushing aside the tall grass that got in his way.

Without warning, Elise, who had been scared stiff just a few seconds ago, ran up to Vio and grabbed his shoulders, turning him around to look at the flying monster. Her dusty grey eyes were focused and cold as she moved closer to Vio so that her face was level with his. "Is that what I think it is?" she asked quietly. Gone was her earlier bubbly attitude for monster slaying, and was instead replaced with frigid seriousness.

Somewhat uneasy by Elise's sudden change in behavior, Vio leaned away. Still, he followed her gaze to take a better look at the monster that was flying across the sky in the distance. Squinting, he could make out a large, circular body with two enormous claws that was flying with bat-like wings. He gasped. He could recognize that silhouette anywhere. "It's Vaati!"

"And he's holding someone! It's a girl!" Elise exclaimed. Elise seemed to have better vision than the other Links, and Vio had to squint harder to make out the shape of a person in Vaati's claws. In the meantime, Elise was already rounding everyone up, her staff swinging with great authority. "He must be stopped! All of you, save her!" she demanded.

In a different time, the White Maiden might have been met with a disgruntled Blue asking why she was bossing them around. However, now was not the time. Kidnapping young girls was something exactly like Vaati to do, and if he was up to no good again, they were the only ones who could stop him. "I knew we couldn't trust him," he said to Green as they all took out their bows and began following the sorcerer.

Although Elise often acted scared about monsters, the Links had learned that it was nothing more than that: an act. During some of their most trying battles in their quest to collect all four elements, the priestess had continued to show incredible boldness in facing the most powerful of boss monsters. This time, she surprised them all by firing a beam of light magic towards the sorcerer who was starting to gain distance on them. "I'll get his attention, you boys shoot when he comes towards us!" she ordered.

"How do you know that he's going to…" Green started, but then trailed off when he saw that Elise's shot had caught Vaati's attention, and he was now moving quickly in their direction. "Well I guess that worked." He was somewhat worried about what they would do once he made it to where they were. Their sword wasn't done yet, and the sorcerer looked as angry as ever with his huge eye glaring at them more the closer he got.

"Well, what are you waiting for?_!_ Shoot him!" Elise shouted.

"And risk shooting his captive?_!_" Green exclaimed, horrified by her reckless suggestion.

"It's a sacrifice for the greater good!"

Before they could keep arguing about what to do, Vaati arrived with a literal explosion, surprising them all with a huge blast of energy from his eye that nearly blasted the ground right from under them. They went tumbling backwards as dirt and rocks exploded up in their face, and Green heard Elise wail and then scramble away, leaving them to deal with the angry sorcerer.

"_That was a warning shot._"

The dust settled, and Green looked up slowly from where he lay on the ground towards the monstrous black eye that hovered over them, casting a shadow on the four heroes. It had been a while, a little over a year to be precise, that the four of them faced Vaati in his final form like this, with swords drawn and ready to fight. Next to him, he heard Red bravely speak up, "Let her go."

Green's eyes moved towards the girl in Vaati's claws. She was still quite young, no older than fifteen. She didn't strike him as one of Vaati's traditional targets, as she was wearing dirty rags and didn't look to be a maiden or a princess. Her red hair fell messily around her face, and her round green eyes looked down at them in fear.

Elise peered out from behind a bush she'd been hiding behind, and suddenly exclaimed, "That's the Princess of Labrynna!"

"What?_!_" the Links cried in unison.

Vaati's red eye moved slowly towards the princess in his claws, and then back towards the four Links and Elise with a wicked glint. Then, he abruptly dropped the princess roughly onto the ground, and transformed back into his Hylian form in a black cloud. They heard his sinister cackles before they saw him, and he walked out of the shadows with open arms, his cape flapping in the wind behind him and a snakelike grin on his face. "Do you like my new prize?" he asked with a sneer.

The four Links stood dumbfounded, staring at Vaati in shock. Was it really true, then, that Vaati was evil and had put Princess Zelda under a curse? Of course they believed in the curse to a certain extent, but this was almost proof that they had been right all along…

Vaati continued, reveling in their reactions. "You know, I was going to leave you brats alone since I figured killing you would make Zelda upset," he said, casually pulling at his collar, "But then you decided to shoot me, and annoy me, and be generally irritating with your continued existence, all while I was going about my business of taking this young lady to… wherever in Subrosia I want," he added with a mischievously evil grin. He didn't elaborate further, and let them imagine what he'd been up to. He cracked his knuckles and he grinned even wider when the Links all began to raise their swords at him. "Doesn't this mean I'm allowed to fight you under the terms of self-defense?"

Vaati showed no visible irritation when he brushed aside the memory of Zelda explicitly telling him earlier not to provoke Link:

"_If you meet Link and Elise, RUN AWAY." _

"_Pffft. I don't 'run away' from anyone." _

"_Just please be the bigger person and walk the other way. Quickly." _

"…"

"_Vaati! I'm going to be really mad at you if you fight Link!"_

"_You ordered him to go kill me, so why can't I preemptively attack him?"_

"_Don't."_

"_What if it's for self-defense?"_

"… _I know you're going to provoke him into fighting you and THEN you're going to tell me later that it was 'self-defense,' so no, not even that." _

"_There's nothing more that I want than for an excuse to beat that little –"_

"_Exactly. And I'm not going to let you do that."_

Vaati's nose twitched in annoyance at his silent recollection of his earlier conversation with Zelda. _SO ANNOYING_.

Green's voice broke Vaati out of his inner quarrel. "I wanted to believe you were actually reformed, but it seems like you couldn't stay away from your old ways."

Vaati crinkled his nose. "What? Reformed? Who in Din's name ever said I was 'reformed?' That's not what Zelda's been saying, is it?" The sorcerer looked at Ambi, who'd been trying to get a word in on the conversation for a while now, and then shoved her to the ground, rudely silencing her. "Shut up, princess, don't ruin my fun," he snapped. He knew she'd been about to tell the Links that he hadn't actually been kidnapping her, but that would have completely ruined his chance of being able to beat Link. He gave her a terrifying glare that sent her an unspoken threat to not say a word, and he kept that glare until Ambi gave an exasperated sigh and sat quietly on the dirt. Then, the sorcerer turned back to his horrified audience that was looking at him with disgust. He returned a proud, toothy grin.

"There's something about kidnapping princesses that's just so perfectly addicting."

"We'll finish you!" Elise declared, with determined nods following from all four Links.

Vaati's grin grew wider. Storm clouds began to gather just over his head as the winds began to pick up speed. "You can try."

* * *

><p>fleets: I would say lots about this chapter, but I feel like that would give things away and you guys would rather read the story than listen to me babble on :P<br>fleets' interpretation Vaati wouldn't be a fleets' interpretation Vaati if he didn't make Bad Decisions. So here we are with fleets' interpretation Vaati making very Bad Decisions :D

_fightfightfightfightfightfight!_

**GamerxOtaku: **I had trouble with the Cave of Trials... wish Vaati had been with me XD  
>DesPonte is in trouble, but Roland is so deaaad!<p>

**Reily96: **I think I might have made Vaati and Ambi unintentionally similar to the way I wrote Thistle and Thyme in a way... but without Ambi being googly-eyed about Vaati

**MasterShortPantsx3:** (puts table back) I hope I can give more tidbits about Vaati and Zelda for the rest of the story :3 And you made a good point about Vaati being calm with Ambi: he shouldn't be calm. He needs to be angrrry

**Aerois: **Shame shame on DesPonte. I hope this chapter followed through :)

**Dia Newman: **SHE'S ALIVE DON'T HOLD HER FUNERAL YET

**Sorceress V: **Yeah I think I was really excited to get these two chapters over and done with, I've been waiting so long to get to these chapters! I hope they weren't too rushed though haha

**Flufux: **Vaati still a jerk, check. I don't think I've ever watched Frankenstein or its variations in film, ever. I probably should get on that.  
>I think you got it right that DesPonte was working for someone! Vaati just needed to ask him. Nicely.<p>

**eureka93: **Aww I hope you're feeling better :) Always a pleasure to make people happy :D You guys make me super happy too al;fjald!  
>Haha well you got it right that it wasn't technically him! XD<br>Ambi has the straightforwardness of a kid that I think works in terms of getting Vaati to be less... difficult? I guess?  
>No worries! I've been pretty swamped too, and I'm submitting this in a super rush right now because I'm late to a meeting - I definitely know what it's like to not have time haha T_T<p>

**Lady Kiridia: **it definitely seems like he's involved! You're on to something when you say he's probably bitter :P Ambi also hints at someone being butt-hurt in this chapter. I'll give you more to work with in a future chapter ;)  
>No problem, don't worry about it! I've been pretty swamped, too, and I honestly don't know how I'm finding time writing chapters D:<br>I can't thank you enough for your support, really, they've made my day hundreds of times better :)


	17. Recurring Nightmares

fleets: It's finals week and I kind of wrote this in between, well, finals and stuff. Oops. I feel kind of bad that I've been really terrible at replying to people, but I'll try to get back to them once finals are over hopefully! HOPEFULLY.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 17: Recurring Nightmares<strong>

This feeling. This excitement. Not being able to see Link fallen and defeated by his feet was the only regret he'd had for the past year. The hero had foiled him one times too many, and whenever he saw someone wearing that green hat and tunic he was painfully reminded of the time that the young boy travelling with his old 'master' sealed him in the Four Sword. His grin turned into a frown as he looked at the boy in green: he wasn't bothered by the other colored Links so much as that one. It made him angrier, looking at the green hat on his head. Why did it have to be that shape? Why did it have to be green? It was like Ezlo mocking him all over again in the hat-form that Vaati had cursed him with.

He didn't care if fighting the Links was a bad idea. It was a stupid idea, and he knew that. All he had to do was ignore Link and go straight to Roland, but he hadn't. He couldn't. Link had been a constant thorn in his side, someone who reminded him of a past that should never have resurfaced, and yet here he was reincarnated again. The goddesses must enjoy taunting him so.

Green charged towards him, his sword pulled back across his shoulder, just like the first time at the start of everything. No, not the start of the current mess, but the start of _everything_: the first time when he'd fought against the hero and his old master Ezlo. A pang of rage surfaced as he remembered that encounter. The way Link and Ezlo had worked together reminded him of the way Ezlo never acknowledged him.

He'd followed Link and Ezlo around as they tried to find ways to defeat him. He'd sometimes show himself to mock them, and send some moblins to fight them. Every time they encountered something difficult, they'd somehow work together in a way he and Ezlo never could. It was like Link had something with Ezlo that Vaati never had. It had made him angry to see that. It just confirmed that Ezlo's claims that he was always thinking about Vaati's best interests were all lies.

And now, in this timeline, Link had come back to try and steal _his_ space again, except this time with Zelda. Link had something with Zelda that he never could; they had so much history together that he couldn't compete. They had jokes he didn't get, and stories he wasn't a part of. It was like whenever Vaati thought he was about to win, Link would pop up and shove him aside, relegating him somewhere along "second best."

And in a way similar to how Ezlo had betrayed him by giving Link what he never gave him, he was angry at Zelda for betraying him too. She'd forgotten about him, and no matter how much he rationalized that it hadn't been her fault, she'd broken her promise that she'll never forget him. No matter how much he rationalized that Zelda didn't forget him because she'd wanted to, it stung when she hadn't wanted to see him immediately when she'd regained her memory. "I'm too busy," "I can't talk to you now," "Come back later," "Don't cause trouble" : All of these statements that Zelda would say had been something he'd heard before, something he never wanted to be reminded of again. And just like back then, he'd spent most of the past year waiting patiently for Zelda the same way he'd waited patiently for Ezlo back when he'd still been an apprentice. What a fool he was. He'd thought he'd gotten rid of that Vaati a long time ago…

And that's why he needed to beat Link.

Vaati struck Green with one of his claws, sending him flying away from him, while his other claw smashed down onto Red and Blue who were closing in on him from his right, completely undefended. "_Hahaha!"_ he laughed, and then stopped when he noticed that instead of crushing the two Links, his claw had instead been blocked by a shield of white magic.

"You're open Vio!" Elise shouted from where she stood, several feet away in safety. She'd conjured powerful shields for everyone, protecting them.

Vaati swung towards Vio who had been running at him from his left, but it was too late. The other boy had managed to close in on him while he'd been distracted by the other three, and Vio's sword came straight down onto Vaati's eye with perfect aim.

_Szchhhht!_

Vio ricocheted back away from the sorcerer, and everyone looked at the unscathed Vaati in surprise. Vaati himself appeared shocked, since he'd been expecting to take at least some damage from the sword.

"You won't hurt him," Ambi stepped forward, standing next to Vaati defensively much to everyone's surprise. Her hands were outstretched, and glowing with a light similar to Elise's staff: it was the same white magic shield that Elise had cast on the Links. "This is white magic. The Four Sword cannot penetrate holy shields, and therefore you won't hurt him," the young princess declared with firm determination, "so I ask that everyone stop fighting."

The four Links stopped in their attacks, and looked at Ambi in shock. "Why are you helping him?" Red asked incredulously. Green, who had since recovered from taking a hit from Vaati earlier, was looking at the scene in front of him in a daze. _Why? _he thought, _why is this so familiar?_

"I wasn't being kidnapped," Ambi declared, and then she stomped over to Vaati angrily, "you're not going to hurt those innocent people Vaati!"

"Wait, what…?" Red faltered, "not kidnapped?" he lowered his sword somewhat, wondering what was going on. If the princess hadn't been kidnapped, then why exactly were they fighting right no-

_Boom!_

"_Red!"_

As soon as Red had lowered his sword, Vaati had taken the opportunity to shoot him with a mighty blast of wind magic. The sphere hit Red squarely in the chest, slamming him backwards into the ground where it exploded. Once the smoke had cleared, Red was seen with blood on his body with some light burns. His wrist looked broken.

"_Hahahaha! Too EASY," _Vaati cackled with glee. "_I can't believe you fell for that."_

"What? No! Vaati what are you doing?" Ambi exclaimed. Then, she looked quickly towards the Links, and was dismayed to find that instead of looking at her with worry they were now looking at her like she was a potential enemy. They had it all wrong, this fight was pointless! People were going to be hurt unnecessarily and it was all because of a misunderstanding. _Vaati you idiot!_

However, Vaati wasn't done with his grandstanding. He picked Ambi up in his claws and taunted the Links with her, almost like how children do in playground fights. "_Zelda wasn't the only one I 'cursed.'" _Then, he dropped her back on the ground like a used toy.

"Vaati what-!" Ambi exclaimed incredulously, once she'd picked herself up from the ground. From the other side of the battlegrounds, Elise pointed an accusatory finger towards them both.

"I knew it! No princess would willingly defend such a blasphemer unless she's been caught under the vile sorcerer's spell. We must detain her until we can save her!" Elise ran over to the injured Red and lifted her staff towards him. A white light enveloped him, and within seconds all of his injuries had been healed and he was back on his feet. "You won't be able to touch the heroes, sorcerer. Not while I'm here."

"_Tch, what a nuisance_," Vaati muttered. _"Fine, I'll just have to kill you all at once!"_

"Oh for the love of Nayru I'm _not cursed!_" Ambi yelled above the din when Vaati and the four Links began their fight again. She watched exasperatedly as the four Links jumped in unison over Vaati's claw. The sorcerer summoned a dozen sentry eyes that circled the heroes quickly, and they shot a charged laser towards the Links who were still helplessly in midair. The attack, however, was blocked by Elise's shield, and then the Links all struck down at the wind mage in unison.

The attack did nothing, thanks to Vaati's own shield provided by Princess Ambi. It seemed like this fight was going to be a stalemate with both sides having powerful shields…

"_What in blazes do you think you're doing?_!" Vaati yelled, and Ambi was shocked to find herself suddenly thrown into the air and picked up by a huge, shadowy claw.

"Vaati, put her down!" Blue shouted. Meanwhile, the princess was looking at the angry monster eye, bewildered.

"Uhmm, helping you?" she hazarded. She winced when Vaati roared back angrily.

"_Does it look like I need any help?"_ he dropped her to the ground, where she dropped to the grass abruptly. He shot her an angry glare, and then turned his attention back to the four Links. "_If you interfere again I'm going to hurt you, too._"

"But-"

"_Stay out of this." _With a huge swing of his claws, Vaati sent a vicious tornado towards the Links. The sudden, violent gust blew the surrounding grass flat along the ground, and several bushes were uprooted and were sent flying towards the heroes. He wasn't holding back this time, and it would have severely injured the Links if it weren't for the white magic shield that surrounded them.

"I have you covered. Vaati's open, counterattack!" Elise cast another spell that boosted Red and Blue's speed. They dashed around Green and Vio, flanking Vaati and charging in from the sorcerer's left and right. Vaati wasn't prepared, and he would have taken the attack if it weren't for princess Ambi's -

"_This is my fight! If you try to interfere I will KILL YOU."_

Ambi flinched, and her shielding spell was interrupted. She wrung her hands together worriedly as she pulled back, and fearfully watched as Vaati was hit by Red and Blue's perfectly coordinated attack, followed by Green and Vio's immediately after. She didn't understand why she and Vaati couldn't work together like the Links and Elise. The heroes and the White Maiden were completely in sync, supporting each other and moving almost like choreographed dancers with the way they moved in and out to attack. It was as though each one of them knew what the others were thinking, feeling, and seeing. They went beyond the basic concept of teamwork so that it was almost like they were one, powerful entity.

Vaati reeled backwards and hovered a little higher, retreating from the onslaught. His eye was wild with rage, although it was evident that a bit of desperation was beginning to creep in from the way his voice quaked. He was no longer calm and confident. _"I don't need help, especially not from you," _he glared while Ambi watched from behind a boulder away from the fight. His eye flashed a bright red, which was followed by an enormous blast of energy that decimated the entire ground in a straight line, six feet wide. The Links and Elise effortlessly rolled out of its way._ "You and your brother had hired a wizzrobe, and yet you threatened Zelda to cut ties with the monsters she allied with. You're the last one I want 'help' from." _

Green halted in his tracks. "Labrynna hired… a what?" He turned to the others, confused and wondering if he'd heard Vaati wrong. The rest of the Links also had a puzzled expression on their faces, while Elise stared straight forward at the sorcerer with narrowed eyes.

Ambi shrunk back, hurt. It was true. She hadn't noticed before that Labrynna was being hypocritical, but it was human nature to forget contradictions when there was a matter of convenience. It was all too easy to be blinded to hypocrisy when things were personal. Ashamed, she dropped her hands and the light from her magic faded completely. She didn't want to admit that Labrynna had acted in blind, irrational fear of Hyrule's powerful monster army, but it was difficult to counter Vaati's point. What could she say? "We had no choice, and my brother-"

"_I won't hear your excuses," _Vaati growled, interrupting her,_ "This is your last warning, now stay out of my fight!"_

Ambi lowered her gaze, and she tried not to watch Vaati slowly losing his energy from the four Links' continued attacks. With every hit he screamed in rage, and with every blow his own attacks became erratic and reckless as he lost his ability to think rationally.

Ambi bit her lip and her hands shook. She wanted to go against his orders and help him, but was afraid of the consequences. No, it wasn't that she was afraid. It was that Vaati's words had cut deep and she felt weighed down with guilt and worthlessness. _At least let me help you now!_ she thought, but she couldn't move her mouth to say those words.

She and Vaati were completely different from Link and Elise. It was like Vaati couldn't acknowledge the concept of any kind of partnership, much less teamwork. Seeing him fight, seeing him slowly accumulating cuts and slashes all across his body, made her recall the old legends of the Sorcerer of Winds and how he was defeated again and again. And then, to her horror, she realized that things were no different this time. He was going to lose.

Lose. Did that mean he was going to… die?

Ambi lifted her head again, only to see Vaati wildly casting a spell that turned the trees and grass in front of him into stone. It didn't work on the four Links, of course, thanks to Elise's support. Elise was surprisingly powerful with her magic: Ambi didn't know much about her, but from the way she deflected Vaati's spells again and again, she thought the priestess could be on par with her, and maybe even Zelda. She'd thought only the royals to be capable of such things. Were all the Shrine Maidens this powerful? Ambi opened and closed her fingers distractedly while Vaati continued to rage in frustration that nothing he did was working. _I can't let him die! He's the closest one to the truth behind all of this, and I can't let the truth escape me. Even if it means… even if it means I have to confront my brother._ She took a step forward, but faltered and stepped back behind the boulder again helplessly when she remembered Vaati's repeated orders for her not to help. _What do I do?_

She watched the four Links go in for another simultaneous attack, and she thought she heard Blue yell at her that they were going to save her from Vaati's curse. They thought she'd been compromised, too, just like Princess Zelda. _But I'm not cursed. _Her bottom lip quivered as she thought back on a conversation she'd had with Hyrule's princess, back when she'd told her to leave Vaati. The princess had worn that tired look on her face like she'd explained the same thing to too many people, too many times. "I believe I wasn't cursed," she'd said, "but no one believes me in kind." Now Ambi was in a similar position. Perhaps it had been exactly the same? No one knew for sure what had actually happened at the Palace of Winds, except for Vaati himself, and no one could believe him. And now the heroes and Elise couldn't believe her, because she wouldn't be helping Vaati unless she was cursed.

But since when had she begun to believe Vaati? At this moment, while she could only helplessly watch the fight that had been caused because everyone thought she was cursed, she had begun to think that maybe Vaati and Zelda had been speaking the truth. No, it had been much earlier than that. Perhaps it was when they'd gone to the Cave of Trials, and she'd learned that Vaati wasn't as evil as the stories made him out to be. No, it was earlier than that, still. It was when she'd decided to enlist Vaati's help when no one else would help her find answers at the bottom of the Cave of Trials. What had caused her to believe in Vaati then?

Maybe she'd always known all along that Zelda's story was the truth. No, she was certain of it. She knew it was the truth. Had known it all along. She had no evidence, of course, but she was a good judge of character and knew when people were being truthful. Why hadn't she helped Vaati clear his name, then? Why hadn't she helped Zelda?

Vaati's monster form overshadowed her for a moment as he flew back to catch some breath before going back into the fight. Her worried eyes followed the inhuman creature with his numerous bat-like wings and a dark purple aura that surrounded it. She hadn't sided with him because she'd been afraid. It was probably the same reason no one else dared to help, and the reason why many were quick to bite the interpretation that the princess was insane. It was easier to admit that the princess was crazy instead of agreeing that this vile creature from the most terrifying of nightmares was innocent.

_Fear made me blind, _she thought, _it made us all blind. My brother…_ she clenched her fists, suddenly disgusted with herself. Did she really need to be placed in the same position Zelda had been in to be able to fully and willingly face the truth? What kind of a princess was she?

"Pillar of Light!"

A bright flash of light shot up from the ground, just in front of Ambi, and she fell to her knees from the sheer power of magic that emanated from it. She could hear Vaati shouting angrily, but she couldn't see what was going on because of the bright light. When her vision eventually returned, she saw that Vaati was now hovering close to the ground, his wings twitching like they were paralyzed. Holy light crackled along his body, and his great eye jerked erratically. More importantly, the dark aura that had protected him from most of the attacks earlier was completely gone. "_Elise… you," _he hissed.

Different than the nervous, frightened shrine maiden that Vaati had encountered a few weeks ago, Elise returned a confident smirk. "Finish him."

Ambi started to run, but she was too late. "No!"

Swords flurried around Vaati as the Links slashed their swords at the sorcerer for their last attack. Metal gleamed as the Four Swords activated, and wind rushed to the center where Vaati was.

"_NO!_" Ambi shrieked over the scream of the vortex, and she powerlessly held out her hand to Vaati's vanishing silhouette. "_Stop fighting! I'm not cursed!"_ _Why can't I do anything? Why can't I help?_! The winds ripped at her clothes, and she was thrown to the ground but she continued to try to run anyway. This couldn't end here. This wasn't justice.

The winds died down as abruptly as they came, and everything stilled instantly like the world had frozen in ice. The one-eyed monster was gone. Vaati was gone.

"I… but…" Ambi collapsed, her will leaving her. _Why?_ The question rang in her head over and over again. Why had this happened? This was pointless beyond belief. _Why?_

"Green."

Vio's voice snapped her back to attention. She hadn't noticed, but she'd apparently run very close to the four heroes in her attempt to reach Vaati in time. Red was looking at her in worry. Or was it… could it have been fear? The one in red was looking at her like he'd seen her before in another nightmare in the past. Blue, on the other hand, wouldn't dare look at her face.

"Green," Vio repeated, and Ambi slowly turned to look at the hero who stood several feet behind everyone, his sword on the ground and a ghostly expression on his face, "you didn't strike." There was an unspoken non-question in that statement. It was a question, because it invited explanation, but at the same time it was like Vio had already known what Green would do. Or rather, not do. "Vaati's alive."

_Huh? _Ambi's head snapped towards the patch of grass where Vaati's monster form had been hovering over moments before the attack. The grass was flattened by someone lying there, and parts of it were stained a deep red. The girl quickly crawled towards it, and her breath stopped when she saw the wind mage lying there unconscious. Unconscious, but alive. She put her hand on Vaati's and gave a small squeeze. _I'm so glad._

"I… I…" Green stammered, looking at his hands helplessly. Now Ambi looked at him in surprise: she didn't know the heroes personally, but she'd never expected them to look as distraught as Green did now. Green's face had taken on an ashen color like he'd remembered something terrible, and he seemed to be having trouble finding his voice. She wasn't sure what had happened, but somehow Vaati had been saved because of it.

Elise had by this time reached the small gathering, and Ambi had never seen anyone (aside from Vaati, maybe) look so angry. Her cheeks were flushed red, contrasting with her white hair and marble-like skin. Not caring about keeping the appearances of a serene shrine maiden, Elise stomped over and roughly turned Green around with a hand on his shoulder. "We could have finished him then!" she pointed angrily at Green's sword on the ground, "Pick up that sword and finish him now!"

"I can't," Green replied weakly, still seemingly stunned by what had happened.

"Everyone else could do it, so why can't you?_!_"

"I said I can't!" Green threw Elise's hand off his shoulder, and stepped back to where Red, Blue, and Vio were standing. His eyes wandered like a cornered animal, and then they landed on Ambi who was looking at him with a mix of shock and wonder. He flinched, stumbling backwards into Blue's arms when he saw her. "I can't!" he repeated loudly, and he hurriedly snatched his sword off the ground and began to walk quickly away. "Let's just go get the last element. We're leaving."

"Green! You get back here and finish your jo-" Elise began to follow him with quick steps, but she was abruptly stopped by Vio. She whirled around with indignant shock on her face, but was calmed by Vio's no-nonsense expression. He almost looked angry.

"Don't," Vio said sternly. From the way he lowered his eyes immediately afterwards, it seemed like he knew something about Green's sudden breakdown. When Elise frowned with a slight pout, unsatisfied with his response, he shook his head. "We will," he gave a barely audible sigh, and then continued slowly, "fight him again when we have all the elements. Wasn't that the original plan?"

"Yes, but," Elise stopped, and then she seemed to struggle with her volatile emotions for a bit. Her nose was wrinkled from her frown, and she bit one cheek then the other as she thought through Vio's words. Eventually, she gave a loud sigh and then nodded in agreement. "Okay. I let my feelings get the better of me. You're right, we must find the last element first if we truly want to defeat the evil sorcerer."

"I'll go find Green!" Blue called, and then ran off after Green hurriedly. He avoided looking at Ambi for the entire time, and didn't look back when he ran off.

"I'll go t-" Red began, but was cut off by Elise.

"No. Stay," she ordered. Then, she stepped forward and Ambi inched back from the priestess's imposing presence. Elise's grey eyes looked down at her almost pityingly, like the princess was no longer human. It made Ambi uneasy, and she would have shrunk back farther if she didn't feel the need to stay by the tattered Vaati's side. Elise looked at the princess disapprovingly when she instinctively spread her arms out to shield the unconscious sorcerer. "We have to figure out what to do with her."

Vio watched her with an unreadable, piercing stare, while Red peered out from behind Elise nervously. He, too, almost seemed uneasy to see Ambi's face the same way Green and Blue had been, but to a much lesser degree. Still, it scared Ambi to see them looking at her like she was something like a nightmare. They were afraid of her. "Are you," Red gulped, and asked meekly, "cursed?"

Ambi looked down at Vaati. His breathing was shallow and strained from the severe damage he'd sustained. Cuts and gashes covered his arms and sides, and his expression was frozen in one of pain. However, it seemed like he was hurting from something other than physical pain from the way deep creases dug through his forehead. That was pain from his soul. "No," she replied hoarsely.

"Of course she's not," Vio agreed, much to Ambi and Red's surprise. The boy's voice was soft, thoughtful. It was far away like he was reliving a memory. It almost sounded like he truly believed she wasn't cursed, and that they'd been mistaken, but Ambi wasn't sure. Maybe she was hearing things, since she desperately wanted to believe that they will understand and listen to her side of the story. Elise didn't seem to notice that Vio sounded sincere in believing she wasn't cursed.

"Of course she's not," the White Maiden exclaimed, "her mind's been tricked, changed to think that Vaati is on her side when he is not. That's the power of his evil, and that's what makes him terrifying. He makes you believe that you will be saved by helping him, but he will only lead you to your destruction." Then, gently, she knelt down in front of Ambi and reached for her hand. Had it been any other situation, Ambi may have believed Elise, but the White Maiden's warm hands only felt cold and foreign. What would have been her safe, white light glowing around her only looked like the last light of dusk. Ambi could hear nothing but lies as Elise kept preaching. "Monsters in all their forms will try to lead you astray from the goddesses' teachings. They will lead you to the depths of the Dark World in death, and you will spend the rest of eternity haunting those you loved. Vaati is one of the most powerful manipulators, and he tried to make you one of them. Fear not," Elise squeezed her hand reassuringly, but Ambi was anything but reassured, "we will save you, your highness. Just as Princess Zelda was saved, you, too, can still be saved."

"What are you planning, Elise?" Vio asked cautiously.

Elise stood up, Ambi's hand still in hers. She looked on at the princess in pity, and it sent shivers down Ambi's skin. It was terrifying because Elise truly believed everything she said with unyielding conviction. There was no convincing Elise otherwise that she wasn't cursed. "We must detain her so she doesn't harm herself or others while we figure out how to cure her. We must do so immediately."

"What… but…" Ambi wanted to back away, but she was more afraid of what they would do to Vaati than to her. She knew now that he deserved a chance, even though he was an idiot, but Elise wouldn't listen to her. The princess yanked her hand out of Elise's and held her arms out defensively, shielding Vaati. "No," she said defiantly, "we were just about to figure out who was behind the plague, and we were going to obtain the cure, too. Vaati was _helping_ Hyrule. If you all had just listened to each other we could have worked together to bring to justice the _real_ person who's behind all this." Then, she looked down at her feet as she thought, _Even if it means my brother must be brought to justice._

"What did you say?" Vio began, but Elise cut him short.

"Oh you poor thing. Vaati has got you good, doesn't he? He can be pretty devious, he can," she tutted. "He must have told you all sorts of lies and put you under his powerful spell so you can go help make other innocent, goddess followers to stray from their path. Hmm, you are much more in trouble than I thought."

"Can't you just _listen_ to me?_!"_ Ambi shouted, and then was startled to find Elise's staff pointed right at her head.

"Calm yourself, thrall of evil. You hold no power over me, the White Maiden who wields pure and righteous magic of the goddesses."

Ambi took a desperate look towards Vio and Red, pleading with her eyes to help her. Neither of them did, but she saw Vio give a slight nod as though to say "go ahead." _Do what you must,_ he mouthed. Or did she imagine that too?

Elise's staff began to glow. Ambi wasn't going to wait and see what Elise was about to do. The princess shot her left hand in the air, while her right reached over and grabbed Vaati tightly by his wrist. "_Farore's Wind!"_ she cried. Green light flashed and glittered where the girl and sorcerer had been, and Elise was knocked backwards from the sudden surge of energy. By the time Elise figured out what had happened, both Ambi and Vaati were gone.

Only the flattened grass where they had once been remained.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Green!"

Blue slowed down as he caught up to Green, and he looked back to where Elise, Vio, and Red were. They were some distance away now, since Green had been moving quite fast when he'd left them. Blue knew exactly how he felt, since he was feeling the same way: looking at Ambi as she insisted she wasn't cursed made him nauseous.

"Hey, are you okay?" Blue asked. When Green didn't answer, he moved ahead of him and stopped, forcing the other boy to stop walking. "Snap out of it."

Green pushed him aside roughly, "How can you be okay?" he exclaimed, and then, startled by his own outburst, hung his head and heaved a sigh. "How were you able to strike Vaati when…" he trailed off. Blue averted his gaze, and when he didn't know what to look at, let his eyes wander back to where Red and Vio were still standing.

"I almost wasn't able to," Blue admitted.

Neither of them said anything for a while. Eventually, Green walked over to a small rock and rested against it. Blue moved over to join him, and they waited for the rest of their group to catch up.

They both knew what the other was thinking. After all, they were both from the same, single person, before the original Link had pulled the Four Sword and split into four entities. Blue knew, even without Green explaining to him, just what had gone through his mind before they'd went in for the final attack against Vaati. Ambi had been screaming in the background, saying she wasn't cursed.

He'd seen her face, then. Not Ambi's, but _hers. _A scene had flashed before his eyes right before he'd swung his sword down on Vaati's eye. They were no longer in the grassy fields outside of Hyrule, but far above the clouds at the Palace of Winds. The cool wisps of clouds floated through their final battle ground to decide the fate of Hyrule: would it be saved, or would it be overrun by monsters? At the edge of the battle there stood a princess with red hair, tied back in a ponytail. _I'm not cursed_, she insisted over and over again, _why can't you believe me?_

When the battle was over, Green had seen a picture he'd seen before, roughly a year ago. Vaati was defeated, and all that remained was a princess distraught over the sorcerer's loss. There was a girl with the same red hair with the same expression of heartbreak and injustice. And that expression, both times, had been directed at him.

He needed something to keep his mind off of that memory. They all needed something to keep their minds off that memory. That's why Green could only think of going to their next destination to find the last element. At least when he was doing something the memories wouldn't haunt him. He didn't need to think about what would happen when they finally did collect all of the elements and strengthened the Four Sword. Without a doubt, the four of them and Elise could defeat Vaati again. For good. Forever. Was that the right thing to do, though?

In his mind, Zelda's words from a year ago rang in his head miserably.

_Why couldn't you listen to me?_ she mourned,_ I'm not cursed_

A bitter smile crept on the corner of Green's lips. Blue glanced at him questioningly for a few seconds, before he went back to staring at the horizon.

_Of course you're not…_

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><p>fleets: I was going to go into more character musings and people talking about life and stuff, but I decided to stop here. Mostly because I'm lazy and impatient, and partly because I think enough happened in this chapter already... maybe? idk it's 3am and i'm tired. ugh.<p>

I DO want to mention, though, that I think I should discuss how my Vaati interpretation may differ from other authors'. I've been kind of struggling with this for the past year or so, in terms of wondering if I like the dastardly evil Vaati or the Vaati I've written throughout the course of my writings, which is the 'traumatized childhood' Vaati. I think at some point I began to stray away from 'sad childhood' Vaati? At any rate, I realized I'd stopped discussing his past as much as I did in stories like Rend, or Avilux.

For this story, I kind of want to revisit the Vaati I'd started with, which is 'sad childhood' Vaati (the one described in Tainted Heart). However, if you are a fan of just evil dark bastard Vaati who doesn't constantly angst over his past like the Vaati I sometimes (er, often?) write about does, then I would like to point you over to an author who a.) inspired me to post on b.) wrote the first Vaati story I ever read ever c.) who was also coincidentally my first reviewer ever d.) still writes Vaati stories, and pretty fantastic ones at that! I hope I didn't embarrass Reily96 too much, but she has some great stories about unapologetically evil Vaati which I've never really been able to do, heh :) So go check her out if you want good stories about Vaati being an even bigger butt than he is in mine!

I MUST TO BED IT'S NOW WAY PAST BEDTIME AL:SKJF:LSKJDF

**Hestra Hassildor: **He can be a handful haha, but that's why we love him yeah? :P

**Reily96: **I've known you since you were animefangirls, I can handle your weirdness x 100. You've dealt with mine for dinosaur billion fanfic years now. XD GOOD. I do not want anyone to know what is going on until the very end :D

**Lord Siravant: **Vaati being dumb generally doesn't end well. For Vaati. Again. No surprise there XD

**MasterShortPantsx3: **He has a doctorate degree in ruining things

**Aerois: **Vaati ain't dead yet! Also I don't think Elise is going to have many fans in this story haha

**SorceressV: **You won't have to hate Link yet, he didn't kill him! That hero has too strong of a sense of justice to try to kill Vaati seriously. Elise on the other hand...

**Dia Newman: **NOPE NOT KIDDING

**Cheza the Flower Maiden: **Aw thank you for liking this so far, I'm trying my best! I tried to keep that part of Vaati from the games (in MC he's just soooo clueless about where the Light Force is when he could have figured it out with a bit of thought and patience lol)

**SkyKly: **Haha don't worry about it! I know what it's like to be busy and finding time to read stuff... I really, really liked the Oracle series when I first played them, so I've always wanted to incorporate Ambi (or some ancestral line of her) into my stories. She was pretty neat: she fell in love with a sailor who came back as a stalfos. It was pretty tragic actually. And thank you for leaving such a nice comment :D

**Flufux: **I don't think I've ever written a Vaati story without having him make at least one very bad decision lol

**GamerxOtaku: **Oooh interesting you think it's Elise do you? :) I guess we'll find out!

**eureka93: **Zelda's special but Vaati won't admit it. Yet :P. He's being a butthurt idiot about the whole thing right now though...

**Lady Kiridia: **I kind of tried to drop hints here and there about DesPonte being the alchemist :P I think in one of the chapters he mentions he's an alchemist, which is implied to be an uncommon term for 'potion maker.' Yes he IS a hypocrite! I think that's part of human nature though: we tend not to see the things that benefit us as being wrong, but we go crazy when someone else starts doing the same thing. Maybe I'm just cynical though.

**TriceratopsX: **COOKIES! D'aw thank you :) Sequels are usually difficult to write, and I've been surprised at this one's really positive feedback compared to WIR. I'm enjoying everyone's guesses so far on how they think this will play out! (I used to hate people guessing, but I think I just wasn't confident back then). Of course I can't spoil anything for you, but I guess we'll find out how right you are in the upcoming chapters, ey? :D


	18. Unspoken

fleets: Happy early Holidays! This isn't a long chapter, but I figured I'd submit something before Christmas/Hanukkah (and for those of you not celebrating Christmas/Hanukkah, then it's an early submission for whatever it is you might celebrate during this time of year)! Good luck with the rest of your finals, for those of you who still have them!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 18: Unspoken<strong>

_Why can't I win…_

Vaati didn't really know where he was. Sometimes he could see the sky hurry by him, and other times he was in a vast white land of nothingness. He'd drift in and out, the scenery shifting from one to the other. He didn't really care where he was at the moment. He was tired. He just wanted to go to sleep and not be bothered with anything right now. Eventually, the skies disappeared until he was all alone with the vast whiteness.

_Why can't I win…_

He opened his eyes, and he realized he'd been lying down on the white floor, staring up at a white ceiling that extended to infinity. He got up on his elbows, slowly, even though he would have liked to keep lying on the ground and drifting off to sleep. Something compelled him to see what was out there in this white world, and he could sense that it wasn't as empty as it seemed. He looked around, and eventually his eyes caught a small bump in the scenery. Far away, he saw the outline of a person standing with his back to him. They were standing on top of a tall platform, at the end of a flight of stairs.

_I belong up there_, he thought, and he stood up on his feet and tried to take a step forward. Instead, he was stuck where he was and his legs wouldn't move an inch.

_Hey, turn around!_ he shouted at the person standing high above him, but no voice came from his mouth. He watched in frustration as the person continued to stand on the platform high above him with his back towards him.

Vaati felt a push on his back, and then became crushed within a sudden surge of faceless people who had appeared out of nowhere. They all crowded around him, looking up at the person standing on the platform. They were shouting something, but their voices were muffled and he couldn't hear them. Still, he somehow knew that they were shouting a name, and that they were celebrating the person up on the platform. They thought the person a king, or no, a god even.

It was then Vaati realized that he recognized the person on the platform. Details emerged, and he could see a dark purple cape draped over their shoulders, and a similar colored hat covering his head. Even though he could only see their back, Vaati knew that he was looking at himself.

_Turn around and look at me!_ he tried to shout again, but in vain. His other self wouldn't look at him, and occasionally raised his hand to acknowledge the faceless crowd. Vaati felt another push and this time he noticed someone he recognized rush forward through the people. Strands of red blond hair floated past his face and the edges of her pink dress brushed his ankles as Zelda ran forward, completely oblivious that he was standing right next to her.

_Zelda, wait!_ he knew he couldn't be heard, but he tried anyway. He reached his hand out forward, but some kind of invisible force kept his fingers from touching her. Eventually, she was out of reach: so close and yet so far away. He was drowning, drowning in a sea of faceless people as he helplessly watched his other self standing proudly on the platform far above them, looking down at them like a deity. Zelda ran up the stairs to join the other Vaati, and they held hands, happily looking at the view below.

His other self still wouldn't turn around, like he couldn't be bothered to look at a loser like him. An intense wave of jealousy and confusion swept over Vaati as he watched his other self, thinking, _Why can't I win?_

XXXXXXXX

"..ti…aa.i…Vaati!"

Vaati opened his eyes. He was staring up at the sky again. It was a bright, sunny blue with soft puffy clouds dotting it here and there. The sorcerer squinted, trying to gather his thoughts which were still blurry and convoluted. _Weird dream_, he thought, and he tried to roll over onto his side.

"Hey, hey, don't move so suddenly yet!"

He recognized the voice as the little brat Ambi's. He was about to tell her that he could handle it, but a sharp pain that shot through his body made him think twice about it. Instead, he rolled onto his back again and went back to staring at the sky. With an annoyed scowl, he reached his left hand out to where he thought he'd heard her voice, and curled his fingers around something that felt like a lap.

"Vaati uhmm, you're hand… what uh…"

He chuckled to himself upon hearing the princess's obvious embarrassment. _I'm not in that weird world anymore,_ he reassured himself, _I guess I'm awake then._ He removed his hand away from Ambi's lap, and glanced over to see the princess's flustered face. It was strange: she looked relieved that he was conscious again, and that wasn't a reaction he often received. Ambi looked even messier than she'd been when he'd last seen her, like a few days had gone by where she hadn't taken care of herself. Her hair was matted in big clumps around her face from dirt and grime, and her nose was slightly red from a bit of sunburn. "How long?" he asked.

Ambi moved away from his line of sight, and he could hear her rummaging through that little bag of hers to look for something. "Three days," she replied, and he frowned at the news. She came back a few seconds later with a bottle of water. She passed it to him, and he took it hesitantly, as though he was still wary of getting any sort of help from anyone. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever wake."

Vaati sat up, slowly at first to let his body get used to moving. His joints were stiff, and if he moved too fast he could feel his battle pains strike him with sharp pains. He grimaced at the thought of having pushed himself so far fighting a mere brat like that. He wasn't sure what hurt more, his wounds, or the sting of having to try so hard and still losing to someone who didn't have great power like he did. _If only Elise hadn't…_ he stopped. He frowned, and shook that thought away: he wasn't going to make excuses on why he'd lost. He should have been able to win that fight, regardless of the fact that he'd been outnumbered five to one and fighting someone with magic support. Nothing should be able to stand in his way.

He'd been unconscious for three days, according to Ambi. He took another look at her, and she was avoiding his gaze as though she were afraid that he would be angry at her. After all, he'd threatened to hurt her if she'd helped him in any way during that fight, and she'd clearly assisted him judging by the fact that he was very much still alive and not sealed in some sword. He grudgingly looked away, somewhat ashamed, and instead decided to look around and see where he was while he took a sip of water from the bottle.

They seemed to be on top of a rocky crag somewhere. They were under the shade of a small tree, but for the most part they were surrounded by large boulders. For some reason the place seemed familiar, and he wondered if it was the same mountain that the Helmaroc King liked to frequent. The fields they had been fighting in were far below them in the distance, and he wondered how Ambi had even managed to get them to where they were now. He glanced back at the young princess, and saw that her toes were curled and she was fidgeting slightly. The frown on his face deepened. Honestly, he was feeling the same way as her. "Why did you help me?" he finally asked.

Ambi finally dared to look at him, and she kneaded her fingers in a somewhat embarrassed way. "Because Zelda is my friend," she said.

Vaati scrunched his nose. "What does that have to do with anything?" he asked.

Labrynna's princess turned her head away again, but this time out of annoyance than embarrassment. "Stupid-"

"Who are you calling stu-"

"She loves you!" Ambi blurted, startling Vaati into silence. The wind mage, whose mouth had been open angrily in the middle of a shout, closed slowly in shock. Ambi sighed, and then said in a calmer voice, "If you got hurt then she'll be sad."

It took Vaati several long seconds until he found his voice again. The topic had come out of seemingly nowhere and his head wasn't prepared to process such a thing. He was still a little fuzzy from waking up from that weird dream, and he was only just coming to terms with the fact that he was still pretty injured. Now he was being told that Zelda had real feelings for him, and he didn't know how to handle it. He thought back on all those times he'd been waiting for Zelda to just say those three words since the day when he'd gone to fight Link at the Palace of Winds. It had been a year since then, and she'd yet to say it. His lips twisted into one of bitter disappointment, and he snorted, dismissing Ambi's statement as ridiculous. "… No she doesn't," he muttered, and he grimaced at how his voice wavered, like he actually cared. Still, he hoped his tone had been heavy and leaden enough that it would dissuade Ambi from continuing the conversation. Honestly, this wasn't the time he wanted to be talking about something like this. Actually, he never really wanted to be talking about something like this, especially with someone he'd only known for a few days. He closed the cap on the water bottle and tossed it aside irritably. It banged on the stone loudly as it fell.

"How can you say that?" Ambi gasped incredulously, either not getting the hint to stop the conversation or not caring about how he might react. Her surprised expression, like she knew something he didn't, made him all the more irritable. "Of course she-"

"She doesn't! And it doesn't bother me, so I don't care!" Vaati snapped, his voice raised louder than he'd intended. He stood up abruptly, flinching as he did so from the wounds he'd momentarily forgotten about, and then limped away angrily. He couldn't go very far, however, as they were surrounded by jagged cliffs and steep inclines. Instead, he dejectedly sat back down a few feet away from where he'd been, his back stubbornly facing the young princess. After a while, he explained somewhat more calmly, "She hasn't said she does yet." He frowned to himself, thinking he should have just ended the conversation then, but something had inclined him to continue it. A part of him was intrigued in a pessimistic sort of way, as though daring Ambi to prove him wrong.

Ambi was openly staring now, her incredulity overshadowing her earlier timidity. Once again she was stumped by how utterly childish Vaati could get, even though he frequently used the age card against her. Her cheek twitched as she recalled the countless lines of_ "You're only fourteen._" She stared at his back, which was slightly curled over, and from the way his cape jutted out slightly, she could tell he had his arms crossed over his chest like a spoilt brat who'd been grounded. She wasn't sure if Vaati actually knew how silly he looked. "Really?" she asked when she finally found her voice, "You're upset because of that?"

He lashed out almost immediately. "I am _not_ upset about it," he said pointedly.

"You're clearly bothered by it!" Ambi exclaimed.

"I'm clearly not!"

"She might not have said it yet but if she shows you-"

"She doesn't."

And the exchange ended abruptly. Ambi was hushed into silence by the weight of his words, and for a brief second it almost seemed like Vaati himself was stung by what he'd said. The sorcerer shifted his weight, and then sighed loudly, kicking a small rock off into the cliff. It was a realization he'd come to, all this past year, after repeated rejections. Zelda didn't have time for him. Ever. Didn't that mean something? He hadn't minded at first, since the fact that he was freely going about as the unofficial King of Hyrule was victory in itself, but after a while that hadn't been enough. It was only after weeks and weeks of being told to wait for her that it had begun to grate on his nerves. Resentment? He'd hid it well, thinking that if he went along with it then someday…

It was all one sided, wasn't it. At some point, he didn't know when, he'd gotten so caught up in their silly little Valiant and Zealous charade that he'd almost come to believe that he felt something. That she felt something. He'd gotten so caught up in it, in fact, that he'd forgotten that it wasn't like him to care about someone else. After some time he'd almost believed that the charade had been real. But it hadn't been. It had only been real until Zelda had begun to find a mountain of other duties that overshadowed him. That trip he'd planned on taking her to Holodrum just before she'd lost her memories, that had been a glimmer of hope that things would be better. Pah, what was he saying, it wasn't one sided at all. He didn't care about her like that. She was just… a symbol. A trophy? Yeah. That was it. He wasn't bothered in the least, no.

Princess Ambi's cautiously quiet question stirred him awake from his thoughts. "Did you ever tell her?"

Vaati snorted, and he slowly turned his head to acknowledge the girl. "Tell her what?"

"That it… that it bothers you that she hasn't told you how she feels?"

Ambi half expected the sorcerer to shut her down again, saying that she'd gotten it all wrong and that he wasn't bothered. Instead, and to her surprise, he seemed to weigh in on the words in quiet contemplation. Eventually, he shrugged a little too casually, almost too purposefully like he was just trying to make it seem like he didn't care at all.

"She won't listen," he said flatly.

"How can you say that?" Ambi pressed.

_Because Ezlo never did. _

Ambi waited for Vaati to say something, but he only seemed to sulk even more in his own bitter silence. When he continued to say nothing, staring at the spot between his feet with such a deep glare that it wouldn't have surprised her if it suddenly went up in flames, she gave another loud sigh and shook her head. "You can't expect her to know you're upset if you don't tell her about it." She'd half expected him to make a scorching remark at her suggestion, but he continued to glare at the empty spot between his feet. She knew that he'd heard her from the way the corner of his mouth moved slightly into a small frown, but still he said nothing. Figuring that she'd at least gotten her message across, she casually placed a bottle of red potion next to him and walked off to leave him alone with his own thoughts. She knew she was right, and she knew he knew she was right, even if he didn't want to admit it. His silence alone proved that he knew she was right. Although he discounted her for being only fourteen, she was good at reading people, of knowing what needed to be said and when: it was a trait that often burdened princesses.

And Vaati knew, that she knew that he knew, that she was right. He didn't want to admit it, and he wanted to turn her to stone and chuck her off the edge of the cliff for it, but that was making it obvious that she'd won. Instead, he sat there sulking, angrily thinking about what she'd just said. Tell Zelda? He'd lose face if he did that, there was no way he'd do it. He'd look weak, like he actually needed her or something. This was all just a game to win her over so completely that it would be his total victory over Hyrule. Nothing more. Nothing more! Vaati threw yet another stone off the cliff, this time with more force. His swing almost accidentally knocked the bottle of red potion off the cliff as well, and he hurriedly caught it before it smashed to pieces. His anger was fueled out of embarrassment, and he swung his hand back as though to toss the bottle aside anyway before he let out a furious incomprehensible shout instead. He took a swig of the healing potion, threw it as far away from him as he could, and then blasted it to a million pieces as his wounds quickly healed over.

Besides, wasn't she the keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom? She should just… know these things. He shouldn't have to explain, and feel stupid doing so. It wasn't his job to tell her about… feelings. What feelings?

And then he remembered, that day when she'd freed him from the Four Sword, knowing full well the consequences of doing so. It was etched into his memory, how she'd touched his cheek and looked back into his eyes with her gentle blue ones. Could he truly say that the warmth of her expression had been faked? Or that what happened afterwards, where they lay on the grass looking up at the perfect sky, shoulder to shoulder – did that mean nothing? He could still see her rosy lips quivering slightly with passion as she promised him she would never forget.

"Stupid. Stupid!"

"Truly, aren't they all?"

Vaati froze at the unexpected voice coming just from over his head. Why, why was it that whenever he was having some kind of trouble, the first one to know about it always seemed to be, "Helmaroc," he glowered, holding back the exasperated groan that almost escaped his throat, "since how long ago have you been there?"

If birds could grin, the Helmaroc King was certainly grinning right now in an infuriating manner. The great bird was perched high above on a ledge above him, and was looking at him in mild curiosity. "Since some time before you woke up," he stated simply, letting his words sink in. Vaati inwardly squirmed, realizing that the monster bird had heard everything between him and Ambi up until now.

Eventually, the sorcerer threw his hands up in the air, giving up trying for the day. He wished he could go back to that weird dream from before, if only to get away from everything he'd had to deal with in the past half hour. Being sealed in the Four Sword with no one to talk to seemed really appealing right about now. "What do you want," he asked tiredly.

If the Helmaroc King chuckled just now, he hid it well. Instead, the bird replied cooly, "A message for you."

"From who?"

The great bird clicked his beak. "The wizzrobes."

* * *

><p>fleets: The first part of this scene was largely inspired by what happens in my other story, Avilux, with Vaati not being able to get the attention of his modern incarnation.<p>

I was really debating whether I should keep going with the chapter, or stop here, and I decided to stop because I didn't want what's coming up next to overshadow the conversation between Ambi and Vaati. Until now I didn't really talk openly about the problems Vaati and Zelda were having (aside from small hints in the very early chapters). I don't think Vaati (or Zelda for that matter) is an easy person to have a relationship with, and all relationships have problems at some point in time (as much as I'd love to write about their fluffles).

There's still a lot of questions about what's actually going on here (like what was up with Ambi for the last 3 days), but we'll get to that later.

Happy Holidays again! I wish you lots of cookies!

**MasterShortPantsx3: **They play a fairly important role in the story, so you'll be seeing more of the Links later :) Good luck with finals! I hope I wasn't too much of a distraction haha.

**Flufux: **Yeahhh she hasn't exactly had the best week of her life so far... Hahaha that's perfect! I imagine Elise to sound like those haughty, annoying, somewhat squealy girls, so that sounds about right lol. I also love the voices you gave the other characters, they seem to be exactly like I imagine them to be (Thistle with an accent is hilariously amazing. Maybe I'll make it official).

**Dia Newman: **-claps and cheers encouragingly-

**Cheza the Flower Maiden: **Ahhh thank you! That'll play an important part as the story goes on :)

**GamerxOtaku: **Ahhh;sladj thank you for such a sweet review, I'm so happy to hear that you got the emotion I was going for. It's a huge encouragement for me to hear that my chapters have emotion :)

**Sorceress V: **I don't think I really talked about Vaati's past so much in recent stories, and I kind of wanted to return to that. I think someone's past relationships have a huge impact on current relationships, so his relationship with Ezlo is pretty important here.

**eureka93: **Emotional stabbage is exactly what I go for in almost all my stories, come on now :P Haha I kid, I kid, I was actually having a somewhat emotional weekend (in a good way) and when I get those moods I think I really focus on it in stories. Elise is not a character to like, that's fact. I'd be surprised if anyone liked her haha

**Aressia: **Aaaah thank you for such a kind review, on this one and on WIR (I read your review there too :D). I've been trying to be more mindful about describing things more, since I used to be a lot worse about it (my first stories published on here are just... idk...). Romance is a genre I just recently started trying, so I'm glad you're enjoying it (even though it's more like an Adventure genre recently)! It means so much to me to read reviews like this, so thank you thank you thank you for the encouragement, and I'll try my best to keep the story as enjoyable until the end!


	19. Sabotage

fleets: Hiiiiiii I'm back with another update! Thanks everyone for your patience, I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday. I don't have much to say, other than I've missed you all :)

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><p><strong>Chapter 19: Sabotage<strong>

Vaati sighed, somewhat annoyed that the first message he had to hear after waking up was from the troublesome wizzrobes. He figured they'd gotten into some kind of trouble again, considering how they were going out of their way to give a message to the Helmaroc King to pass on to him. He wanted to pretend that this message was going to be unimportant, but he had an ominous gut feeling about this. He almost wanted to tell Helmaroc to come back with the message some other time, when he was feeling less gloomy about his recent loss against Link. Before he could say anything, however, Ambi came back, waving towards the giant monster bird.

"Oh hi Helmaroc, you're back," she surprised Vaati by walking over casually, as though there was nothing out of the ordinary about a gigantic bird about the size of a small house chatting with them. She surprised him further by climbing up onto the boulders and settling herself down on a rock just next to the boss monster's feet.

"He helped get us up here," she explained when she noticed Vaati gaping at her in surprise. Something had obviously happened within the last three days that had changed the princess; she'd been scared of even the weakest of monsters a few days ago when they'd gone to the Cave of Trials, and now she was relaxing with Hyrule's strongest. "I was able to teleport only several dozen feet away from where you collapsed, but the Helmaroc King flew by and offered to take us somewhere safe," she continued, still not understanding what it was that had the sorcerer staring at her blankly. "It was lucky he was there because otherwise we would have been exposed down there to any number of hazards. I'm not sure what we would've done if my brother's soldiers or something had stumbled upon us."

Vaati was staring in open mouthed shock at the princess of Labrynna. "Helmaroc offered to take us somewhere safe," the sorcerer repeated slowly, "_and you believed him?_" he asked, his voice a little weak. The Helmaroc King was not known for helping people, especially those who were in a position of weakness. Out of all the monsters out there, the bird was perhaps one of the most fiercely independent, stopping at nothing to dethrone someone if he didn't think they were worthy. Half of the problems he'd had the last time when he'd kept Zelda captive at the Palace of Winds had been because of the stubborn bird. There were only two people in the world, so far as Vaati knew, that the bird actually listened to, and that was him and Zelda. To think that Helmaroc of all creatures decided to help them… it was such a strange thing that he, well, he didn't know what to think.

"I was desperate!"

"Oh. Okay. You're desperate pretty often, aren't you," he muttered, not entirely convinced that everything had been as simple as Ambi was making it seem.

"And he was being very polite and sincere, and I thought we could use the help," Ambi put her hands on her hips, pouting somewhat. Now Vaati raised an eyebrow at the Helmaroc King, who had suddenly become extremely interested in preening his feathers.

"_You_ were being polite to… _her?_" Vaati asked slowly. He glanced back towards Ambi, too. "I feel like neither of you have told me the full story yet."

The Helmaroc King's usually booming, confident voice was muffled within his feathers.

"What was that?" Vaati asked again harshly, "it's not like you to mumble."

"She wields the holy arrow," the bird muttered, irritably now, and no longer amused. Helmaroc wished they were back to making Vaati uncomfortable with his romantic troubles. "Royals and their holy arrows…" he added aside, barely audible through a grumble.

Suddenly, Vaati took a careful look at what Ambi looked like. His initial reaction when he'd first seen her when he'd woken was that she was a lot messier than before. Now, he realized that she had some healing cuts and bruises around her exposed arms and face. He put two and two together, and then started laughing. "Helmaroc!" he cackled, holding his sides, "You lost to a princess _again?_!" he roared in laughter, while the bird's feathers fluffed up along his neck in an equivalent to embarrassment.

"It's only natural I back off once I realize she has the holy arrow," the bird snapped, but it lacked his prior confidence. His feathers were standing up around his face now as though he could hide behind them.

"Yes, we didn't really fight. I'm sure I would have lost if we'd actually fought," Ambi pitched in hurriedly, not fully understanding the situation. Helmaroc gave her a glare, trying to shut her up, and it almost worked until Vaati pressed her to keep talking.

"So tell me how it went," the sorcerer shook a hand in Helmaroc's face, telling him to be quiet, "he wasn't much of a challenge, was he?"

Before the bird could interrupt, Vaati snapped his fingers and gave the monster a warning jolt of magic which struck him across the face. Somewhat puzzled, the young princess hesitated, glancing at the Helmaroc King uncertainly. Thinking that the bird would get in more trouble if she said he'd attacked her, she answered assuredly, "It really wasn't much trouble, honest. He _was_ pretty frightening at first and challenged you to a fight, but I told him that it would be unfair since you were unconscious."

Helmaroc, looking visibly uncomfortable now and fluffed up like an oversized pinecone, spread his wings to fly away and spare himself the embarrassment. Vaati flicked his wrist in a sharp, downwards motion, causing the Helmaroc King behind him to crash onto the ground, immobilized. "That tricky fool," the sorcerer said with a nasty grin, "he does like playing unfair."

"Yes, it didn't seem very fair," Ambi agreed. "So then he challenged me instead, since he said I put too much of a fuss over it. I didn't have that much of a choice except take his challenge," she trailed off, and then she added hurriedly, "but it was no trouble, really! I fired a shot with my light arrow and he instantly backed off and offered to help. I only received some cuts and bruises because I was clumsy and tripped when he first made his intimidating appearance."

"Oohhhh wow, went up against the mighty Helmaroc King and came out without any broken bones," Vaati repeated, his voice taunting. He floated over to the grounded bird and sat on the monster's helm. The bird mumbled something in a disgruntled tone, but it was lost among the sorcerer's exaggeratedly loud laughter. "Zelda really scared you with that arrow, didn't she Helmaroc? Hahahaha!"

At this, Ambi's eyes lit up in awe and surprise. "Zelda fought against the Helmaroc King?" She felt a newfound admiration for Hyrule's princess.

"Oh sure," Vaati swung his legs over the bird's helm and gave him a small kick between the eyes. At this point, Helmaroc gave a loud sigh, but didn't say anything, knowing it was useless to argue with the sorcerer now. "She gave him one brutal fight, didn't she Helmaroc?" Vaati teased, "Punched a hole in his eye. It took him months to recover," he grinned.

"Only a few weeks," the bird muttered, still pinned to the ground by magic.

The two bantered back and forth for a while, arguing over the details of the fight as the proud monster tried to save face. Ambi watched the exchange, somewhat fascinated how, if the scene had been of two humans rather than an infamous wind mage and a powerful boss monster, it would have looked like two friends chatting with each other. Vaati was talking animatedly about Princess Zelda, and it was obvious from the way he spoke about her bravery and stubborn tenacity that he was proud of her. Even the Helmaroc King stopped to nod in earnest agreement whenever the topic went back to Zelda's character. It was a scene that was so simple and normal that it took the young princess off guard when she was reminded of who the two people actually were.

She inwardly shook her head at the word. She was going to have to reevaluate what it 'normal' meant. They _all_ needed to. Zelda had gained the respect of monsters, and therefore they no longer needed to be a threat. Being with the Helmaroc King, seeing Vaati in person, she understood now that the monsters weren't the ones with an issue, it was everyone else. It all seemed so simple now… why couldn't she see it before? "Zelda really is amazing," she said, interrupting Vaati and the Helmaroc King's conversation. The two blinked, seeming to have forgotten about Ambi in the midst of their heated discussion about how many more monsters Zelda could defeat than the Helmaroc King. Ambi giggled a bit at their reaction, and then continued softly, "I also think I understand what she wanted us to see. These past few days, I was thinking that maybe monsters aren't as bad as we thought they were. I spoke a lot about this with the Helmaroc King."

"I was under orders by the Lady," the monster bird added snappishly when Vaati arched an eyebrow at him.

"He told me all sorts of things about the monsters and their hierarchy, the quirks of different monster races, about what they think of you, about Zelda, about other humans. He was also very polite about keeping watch at night and helped me go shopping."

"Shopping…" Vaati cracked a smile and he leaned his face closer towards the Helmaroc King with a growing sneer. He imagined the proud bird obediently tagging along from store to store with a fourteen year old girl.

"For food," Helmaroc explained shortly when he noticed Vaati's grin. "I just dropped her off at town and picked her up when she was done."

"Aww, isn't that cute," Vaati cackled.

"I was running low on supplies and I couldn't go back to Labrynna since people would recognize me. I did tell my brother I'd be away for a week or so in Holodrum before I went to look for you, so it would have been suspicious if I showed up again in the area," Ambi supplied. "Anyways, he was really nice about it all. I hope that maybe I can… maybe I can help my brother see what Zelda and I see. Maybe he can come to like monsters too.

"_Like. _Pffft," Helmaroc muttered, still somewhat annoyed by Vaati making fun of him. "Emotional favoritism makes absolutely no sense…"

Vaati perked up at this, too. He shrugged, his sneer disappearing, and he waved his hand as though to dismiss Ambi's comment. "Oh. Yeah. Good luck convincing everyone else that you're not 'cursed' just like Zelda," he said, sarcasm edging into his voice.

Ambi hung her head, discouraged, when she remembered Elise and Link's reaction towards her earlier. She remembered their refusal, no, inability to listen as she tried to explain to them that they weren't enemies. She curled over, hugging her knees, when she thought back to the time when she believed that Zelda had been compromised: Zelda must have felt so alone. "I… I want to try," she said uncertainly, but still with a bit of determination. She hugged her knees tighter, "I know you're going to go confront my brother, Vaati, but allow me to join you. I need to talk to him. I understand now that my brother may have done something terrible, but I need to hear it from him. Maybe we can understand each other without resorting to violence."

Vaati yawned. "I'm not really known for my patience," he began with a drawl, and then paused as he thought about his words. He watched Ambi with her knees hugged tightly to her chest, and staring at a spot in the ground with a sad but determined frown. He respected that stubbornness, in a way, and maybe it was because it reminded him of Zelda. Maybe it was because he was stubborn himself. He ended with a bored shrug, "but I guess I can take you with me."

Ambi's shoulders relaxed a little. It wasn't a promise that she could talk to her brother, but at the very least the sorcerer was letting her tag along despite the fact that she was Roland's sister. "Thank you."

Vaati released the Helmaroc King from his entrapment spell and hopped off the bird's head. With a huffy fluff of his feathers, the Helmaroc King shook itself irritably and said with a harrumph, "If it would be alright with my Lord, I would like to pass along the message from the wizzrobes and be on my way." Helmaroc had had enough of hanging around Vaati and Ambi, and his talons were twitching to leave. He clicked his beak absentmindedly, and looked towards the distance as though thinking about where to fly next.

Vaati picked at his fingernails disinterestedly. He'd almost forgotten about the message, and he was mildly annoyed about it. He could care less about what the wizzrobes were doing right now, but past experience told him that listening to any news from the Helmaroc King was often a wise decision. "Go on."

"The wizzrobes finally managed to find the renegade. They no longer require assistance in tracking him down."

It took him a few seconds to register what that meant. He paled as he went through the message's implications in his head. "The renegade… you mean…"

"Vaati, what is it?" Ambi stood up worriedly when she saw Vaati looking at the Helmaroc King in growing horror. From the time she'd been with Vaati, she'd learned that he rarely dropped his confident demeanor, and for it to break so suddenly made her anxious. Something had gone terribly wrong.

Helmaroc went on, not realizing that Vaati had his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white. "It's kind of amazing they actually managed to do something on their own for once," he clucked a chuckle. He flinched, startled, when Vaati suddenly floated over right to the bird's face.

"_When did you hear about this?_!" Vaati's voice tremored from suppressed anger.

The Helmaroc King faltered, not expecting Vaati to be so upset. "Uh, well, word reached me earlier this morning that the wizzrobes had gathered a small group to go burn the wretch alive and-"

"Ow!" Ambi cried out when the sorcerer whirled around and roughly pulled her away by her wrist. He didn't slow down even when she stumbled forward from losing her balance. "Vaati where are we-"

"We need to go back to DesPonte. Now," he cut her off abruptly. He immediately transformed into his Wrath form, and the giant eye picked the young princess into its claws and flew up into the air.

"But wh-"

"_They're going to kill him, if he's not dead already,"_ Vaati finally explained.

Realization dawned on Ambi's face, and the hands that had held on to Vaati's claw tightly slowly lost their grip. She sat in the sorcerer's claw limply, staring at him in dumbfounded horror. "Then that means…"

"_If he's dead then we can't get the cure. Hyrule will fall to the plague."_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With Vaati flying as fast as he could (and leaving quite a storm behind him in his wake), they arrived at DesPonte's little shack fairly quickly. Or rather, what was left of it. They arrived to a pile of collapsed wood and glowing embers, and about a dozen or so wizzrobes scattered about, chattering to each other excitedly. The red Fire Wizzrobes and blue Ice wizzrobes looked up upon the sorcerer's arrival, and some waved cheerily while others gave the sorcerer and Ambi an over exaggerated salute.

Vaati wordlessly dropped Ambi onto the ground, and walked over to the remains of the shack's door. He ran a finger over the still somewhat standing frame, inspecting the magical seal he'd cast earlier to prevent DesPonte from escaping. While he'd taken precautions for DesPonte escaping on his own, he'd never thought he would need to guard against others breaking the seal from the outside… besides, renegade wizzrobes didn't have many (or any) allies of their own to help them. He'd been right about that, at least. These wizzrobes hadn't come here to help the renegade.

Princess Ambi inched away from a Fire Wizzrobe who'd come over to chat while Vaati was looking over the wreckage with the aura of a bomb with a lit fuse. "You and Lord Vaati missed the burning, I'm afraid," he laughed amiably, "we deliver quick justice to those who break our Guild Laws."

"Oh yes, we must always adhere to strict guidelines against those who break the Laws," another wizzrobe sauntered over, jumping into the conversation. "No exceptions."

Ambi was afraid to ask just what kind of justice the wizzrobes were chattering about. It was fairly obvious what they meant, and anyone with half a brain could figure out that "wizzrobe justice" meant "immediate execution" from looking at the burned remains of the shack. She just couldn't admit it, though. She didn't want to believe that their only hope of reversing what DesPonte did to the Hylians might be… no, she couldn't bring herself to think of the word. Instead she remained standing, watching with ghostly complexion as Vaati knelt down and reached into the rubble. The sorcerer ignored the burns on his hands as he pulled out a charred robe. The only clues to the renegade wizzrobe's whereabouts was the dark purple smoke that puffed through the cloth; a sign characteristic of a dead monster.

The brutality of it all was a startling opposite to the wizzrobes' cheerful attitudes. They were laughing away quite happily, as though there was nothing out of the ordinary about burning one of their own to death. The way they spoke and discussed it was detached, like they were talking about the weather and not a murder. DesPonte's robes were ripped with holes, some of them stained red with blood suggesting that he'd been stabbed with sharp blades, most likely ice spears by the Ice Wizzrobes, before he'd been burned to death. Alive. It must have been a gruesome way to go.

_It could be a different wizzrobe,_ Ambi tried to convince her increasingly panicking brain. It was no use, however, when DesPonte's characteristic mask dropped onto the ground from the burnt robes. That was the alchemist's mask, alright. She wouldn't forget the mask she'd seen only three days ago when they'd left DesPonte here to work on the plague's cure. DesPonte was unmistakably dead, and they were left without a cure.

This was just… the worst timing possible. It was so unlucky that Ambi couldn't help but think that the goddesses really did want to punish Hyrule. "Why, why now of all times?" she murmured to herself.

"Oh, well that's because we found out where the renegade was hiding, you see," the first wizzrobe answered matter-of-factly. "We were told to come here, and sure enough there he was, ahahaha!"

"And who told you?" Vaati came over, stalking like a floor master that had found something to squish. He was still holding on to the remains of the late DesPonte, making the burnt cloth drag along the ground with an ominous scraping noise.

Oblivious to Vaati's dangerous mood, the wizzrobes shrugged and laughed amongst each other. "A message from the mailman!"

"Who was the mail from?" another wizzrobe wondered.

"Uhmmm, I didn't check."

"Me neither."

"Should we thank them?"

"Probably should. Probably won't. Hahahaha!"

"Oh I remember now! It was from the castle! The castle!"

"Hyrule?"

"Labrynna!"

"Oh yeah the king, right? Hahaha can't believe those humans think of that spineless guy a king."

"Now Lady Zelda though…"

"Yes, yes, Lady Zelda is so much better."

"Ahaha Hail Hyrule!"

At this point, Ambi's face had become ashen and her legs were trembling. Only an idiot would think that it was coincidence that her brother would send the other wizzrobes after DesPonte immediately after they'd found out about the king's connection to the renegade. But… how could he have found out? It had only been a matter of days and…

No. No there was no way. There was no way her brother could have…

Panic intensified, and her breath became short and irregular. Ambi couldn't tell if she was feeling nauseous from the sight of DesPonte's remains or the thought that her brother was behind all of this. That her brother had removed the only possibility of saving those affected by the plague in Hyrule. She stumbled, taking a few wavering steps towards the direction of Labrynna, and then turned back towards Vaati. She looked up at him helplessly, imploringly. "V-Vaati I… I plead with you to g-give my brother a chance! There must be some explanation! It could be a misunderstanding! I must see him at once!"

"Oh," Vaati's voice was dangerously calm, "We'll go to your brother immediately all right."

"Do not hurt him. Do not hurt him! If you do I… I…" her hands reached out towards the sorcerer, but she couldn't bring herself to touch him. Instead, her fingers opened and clenched as though she didn't know what to do with them. Eventually, she brought her hands to her face, distraught.

"You can come with me," Vaati said quietly, his voice a hush. "I did say that earlier, didn't I?"

Ambi looked up from her hands, her face beaming in hope for a split second. Without warning, however, Vaati shot his hands out, and bright light flashed through the air as the spell hit the young princess squarely in the chest. In an instant, her body hardened to stone, her face still frozen with her hopeful smile towards the sorcerer.

The wizzrobes gasped in surprise and made way as Vaati took slow, deliberate steps towards the frozen girl. He traced her smooth stone chin with his finger, and his red eyes narrowed maliciously. "Yes, you'll come with me," he continued in a whisper, "just like this. I can't wait to see your brother's face when he sees you like this." He snapped his fingers, and he hovered into the air with the statue of Princess Ambi. The air pressure took a sudden drop, and storm clouds gathered overhead. "Consider it a mercy you won't be awake during my… discussion… with your king brother." His expression as frigid as the northern wind, he glared at the wizzrobes that were bumbling about below him.

"And as for you idiots," he said, his calm voice cracking somewhat, betraying his inner rage. His palms began to glow brighter and brighter as magical energy gathered between his fingers. A bloodthirsty sneer emerged on his lips, "you've all made a fatal mistake."

Mere minutes afterwards, not a single creature was left alive by the former DesPonte's little shack.

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><p>fleets: RIP DesPonte. You were created to die so that the plot may continue (waves kerchief). Not all characters get a noble death, and sadly my second favorite wizzrobe (not that it means much, since I really only have 2 wizzrobe OCs heh) does not get one. I've never really touched on my take of the wizzrobe guild and how brutal they could be towards those who broke their laws and turned 'renegade.' Thistle escaped punishment: unfortunately DesPonte did not. Fare thee well my crazy little alchemist, fare thee well! Also byebye cure. Oops.<p>

Also Ambi totally has Helmaroc whipped (psst don't tell him I said that)

not much else to say. Thanks everyone for your continued patience with my slowww updating :D

**Reily96: **ff be trolling. Ambi has become one of my favorite characters to write unintentionally. Probably because she's one of the few people in this story who's actually talking some sense. Unfortunately that also means she gets the short end of the stick, since that's what happens when you become the author's top favorites :P

**Cheza the Flower Maiden: **Hahaha Helmaroc totally had a trollface in the last chapter XD This chapter though, the roles got reversed on him lol

**MasterShortPantsx3: **Things are just getting worse and worse for poor Vaati. I think he might've snapped... I hope your holiday was good too, thank you :) !

**Flufux: **What drew me to the pairing was exactly what you describe: that they're completely opposite of each other. I think they do have the ability to play off of each other's strengths if they're at least willing to learn from each other and be a real team :)

**GamerxOtaku: **d'aww, thank you! Your comments always make my day, reviews mean a lot to me so thank you, too! :D

**Sorceress V: **All relationships hit that stage where you think "omg why," but if you can surpass that then nothing can stop the two of you :) Hmm, I'm not sure actually. I want to guess about four or five. We're almost done though D:

**Aressia: **Ahhh thank you for your kind words :) I think I decided to tackle romance for real when I had some experience with the real life ups and downs of being in a relationship. I've definitely been like Vaati more times than I care to admit...

**Lady Kiridia: **I see Zelda as being shy and unsure about expressing her feelings, especially since she's under a lot of pressure by her kingdom to stop being in a relationship with Vaati. She hasn't really been handling the communication department very well with Vaati, which is the biggest problem between these two right now: neither of them are lowering their guard enough to tell them how they really feel about each other. I think in a way they both see it as "winning" and "losing" if they 'say it first,' which is an artifact of how their relationship started (e.g. "Zelda vs. Vaati" from When I Return).

**eureka93: **lol they're definitely both to blame. Zelda for not saying how she really feels, and Vaati too (if he wants to hear "I love you" then he could say it first too, huh?). They both have a lot of things they need to work on, but boy if they do they'll be truly unstoppable :) I hope you had a wonderful holiday! :D

**SkyKly: **Ambi's a lot like a younger Princess Zelda; she's had a lot of responsibility thrown at her at a young age so she's trained to be able to read people well :) Helmaroc definitely thought the conversation was silly, but Vaati got to laugh at him this chapter :P

**Black-fox: **Aww I was all Grawblublu from reading your message, I'm still blushing :3 I hope you like the update! And also wow I would not have guessed that, your English is great :) I can't imagine reading something that's not in a language I'm used to using, much respect to you! :0


	20. Wrath

fleets: Thanks everyone for your eternal patience. I really appreciate it. This month has been a doozy since I have to write a huge career-ending essay by the end of the month, and whether or not I pass determines whether or not I can remain in the program.

Because of that, writing this has been slow, and I don't think I checked for errors as well as I should have. So, I'm going to cross my fingers that this chapter is actually okay (but I don't want to delay any longer because it's been delayed enough I think...)

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><p><strong>Chapter 20: Wrath<strong>

Not many people can prepare for the kind of sudden chaos that a spontaneous super storm can bring, and Labrynna was definitely unprepared when they were hit by an isolated yet destructive hurricane that settled exactly over the castle. It was fair to say no one knew what was going on, and the guards and castle hands ran around the halls, terrified, as they tried to avoid the shattered glass from the windows being smashed inside and the castle foundations groaning under the powerful winds. After all, even though Hyrule had its fair share of disasters natural or otherwise, Labrynna had always been fairly peaceful and unexciting.

Roland had been in the throne room talking with his advisors when the super storm hit. In an instant, his ears were deafened by the roar of the windows around him exploding from a shockwave. The grand chandelier shuddered and then came crashing down like a diamond spear. Glass flew around the room as the wind invaded the castle, threatening to shred everything to pieces.

Then, just as suddenly as it had come, the storm subsided.

Cautiously, everyone in the throne room slowly raised their heads from where they'd been cowering before. They tentatively made eye contact with each other, as though to confirm that the worst had passed. Just as they were picking themselves up, there was another loud bang and the ceiling caved in, sending an avalanche of stone raining down in the center of the throne room. A plume of dusty smoke obscured Roland's vision, and he backed away, reaching his hand towards the familiar armrest of the throne. He froze when there was a loud "clunk" and something loomed in front of his face.

When the dust cleared, he realized he was face to face with a stone statue in the exact likeness of his younger sister, Ambi. "Ambi? Why…" he asked in hushed horror. He was just about to reach out when another face jumped out in front of him, sending him tumbling back in surprise and causing him to hit his head on the throne behind him. The king of Labrynna found himself suddenly face to face with the one he'd ordered Zelda to hunt. Roland winced when Vaati flicked his nose, and he shrunk away rubbing his nose as the sorcerer loomed over him with an icy glare.

"Hello, your highness," Vaati said with a grin that was too friendly to be sincere. He reveled in the sound of the king sputtering in disbelief from his presence. He picked up the crown from Roland's head, and began to spin it around his fingers as he leaned casually against the king's petrified younger sister. "How does it feel, I wonder, to see your dear little sister like this?"

The king's eyes that had previously been dull and without much life suddenly sparked with energy at the mention of Ambi. The man that Vaati had judged to be helpless within his own fate suddenly seemed like a real king. He charged forward with hands outstretched towards the statue, not caring that one of the most dangerous sorcerers to ever exist stood in his way. Roland was sent flying when Vaati stuck his foot out, and the king pathetically skidded across the floor. Guards rushed to his side as he picked himself up slowly and glared at the sorcerer with raw anger. He snarled, "What did you do to Ambi?"

Vaati chuckled darkly and he placed the crown on his head. He vanished with a snap of his fingers, and then reappeared, standing on the throne behind Roland. "I wonder if you can even begin to understand the magnitude of what you did to me," his red eyes gleamed, "to Zelda?"

Roland ran back towards the sorcerer, a metallic sound ringing in the air as he unsheathed the sword hanging from his hips. "What did you do to-"

_Slam!_

Roland smashed to the floor when an invisible force suddenly rammed into his back. His groans were drowned out by Vaati's gleeful laughter. "Ah, ah," the sorcerer tutted, "I talk. You listen." He caught an arrow that had whizzed inches from his head between his fingers, and he flicked it back towards the brave guard that had attacked him from up on the upper floor. The arrow barely sliced the guard's ears off, and Vaati smirked when the guard crumpled to his knees in fright. "My first impression of you was that you are a coward," Vaati began. He shot a glare, eyes gleaming like cold steel, stopping the guards in their tracks when they had second thoughts about attacking him. He smirked approvingly when they cowered backwards in fear.

"My impression, remains unchanged," he continued, hopping down from the throne carelessly. He then began to pace with slow, calculated steps. stalking towards Roland ever closer with each pass. The king watched with the wide eyes of a cornered man, and he shrunk back ever farther as Vaati's voice gradually rose. "You used cowardly tactics to take Zelda away from me, making her forget and turning her against me. Then you poison her people, threatening to let her kingdom rot unless she helped you kill me," the sorcerer stopped pacing. He was standing back in front of the king, now. "Pathetic," he spat. "You have my permission to speak now. Were you responsible for Zelda's memory loss and the plague on Hyrule?

"I… no!" Roland's expression morphed from one of fear to confusion, and finally to indignant surprise.

"Wrong answer." Vaati spread his fingers, sparks charging around them with powerful magic. Roland screamed in pain when blue lightning shot through him, and when Vaati was done there was smoke rising from his slightly burnt clothes.

"Do you know what monsters do to cowards like you?" Vaati hissed, no longer smiling, "We destroy them. It is much too simple to kill you immediately, however. No, you do not deserve a merciful, quick end. I want you to suffer the way you made me suffer."

"Guards!" Roland shouted, in clear panic now. At the sound of the order, the guards who had previously been frozen in fearful uncertainty sprung to life and recklessly charged at the sorcerer. Vaati didn't even spare them a glance as he flicked his hands out, casually mouthing "To stone with you." The guards all froze immediately, and they thudded around the throne room as heavy stone statues.

"Look at you, again hiding behind others so that they can do what you cannot. Only the powerful deserve to be selfish, and powerful you are not," Vaati slowly moved one hand in a circle, and all of a sudden, Roland began to raise into the air, grasping at his neck and choking. "Kings are selfish. Like you, I am king, I rule the monsters. Unlike you, I deserve to be king. A god." The sorcerer began to walk towards the doors leading out of the throne room, Roland floating behind him, still gasping for air. Then, he snapped his fingers and they teleported outside, right in front of the castle where they could see a view of Labrynna before them. Dark storm clouds circled ominously above, and there was a light tingle in the air from the electricity gathering within the grey cover. In the distance, they could see faint dots moving about: people scrambling to recover from the earlier storm, unaware of what was really happening at the castle. "I'm going to show you what happens to kings who do nothing but hide because their power is lacking. Do you still deny what you've done?"

"What… proof d-do you have?" Roland wheezed, still fighting for air.

"Hahaha! So you think I believe in 'innocent until proven guilty?' Oh no, I'm not soft like that," he released the king from his chokehold, tossing him aside like a ragdoll. Vaati's eyes narrowed as he surveyed Labrynna before him. The way he looked at it, as though he were deconstructing it piece by piece as though to decide how to take the entire kingdom apart, would have unnerved anyone. "I believe in 'guilty until proven innocent.' What proof have you that you aren't the one responsible?"

"This is madness!" Roland cried.

Vaati scoffed. "You're not answering my question, fool." To Roland's horror, he slowly began to gather a malicious energy around his palms. Just as the energy was crackling wildly like a coiled snake ready to strike, Vaati stilled his hand and spoke in a hushed voice that seemed to still time. "I am a god," he repeated his earlier statement, "and I have been patient. I have been merciful. More than is required of me."

Roland glanced at the view of his kingdom, and then back to Vaati in horror when it dawned on him what Vaati might do. "No, please! Do not do this!"

"You seem to have forgotten who you have decided to wage war on, worm," Vaati continued in a whisper. "I rule the heavens and the land below it. I am the Lord of the dark creatures you fear. I am the Sorcerer of Winds!" The sphere of condensed energy pulsed, and shot towards Labrynna with an ear splitting crack like thunder splitting the sky. Electric blue snaked through the roads and between the trees, turning everything behind it into solid stone. It looked like a dark cloud of grey was passing by the kingdom. There was a deadening silence as everything in the kingdom turned solid.

"Everything I did, I did it for them. I had no choice!" the king pleaded desperately, but the sorcerer only sneered.

"Ah, so you admit you were behind everything, then? And of course you didn't have a choice. Of course. You are the true victim after all, aren't you? That's why I turned everyone in the kingdom to stone except you."

Roland crumpled to his knees as he stared blankly at the ashen scenery before him. What was a bustling port was now a dead sea of drab grey. The once lively market was nothing but silent stalls lined with people with ghostlike expressions. The trees no longer rustled. The grass no longer bowed to the wind. Behind the king was also a grey castle encased in stone, a shadow of the splendor it once was. Roland eventually cradled his head in his hands helplessly, and whimpered. "It was my fault," the king looked as though he'd aged years within the span of a few minutes, the creases of his forehead deepening to wrinkles and the skin under his eyes darkening into tired rings. "It was my fault," he repeated hoarsely, his dim green eyes staring at the stone ground in front of him, "I am useless and a coward, and I couldn't… I…"

The king shook his head as though trying to wish away what was quickly turning into a nightmare. The dream didn't pass, and his kingdom was still cursed in stone. "It's all my fault," he snapped his head up to the sorcerer's cold face, "Please, they don't deserve this. It was all my fault. I am responsible for the misfortunes that happened to Zelda and Hyrule, not them!" he begged. When Vaati returned nothing but a silent stare, Roland seemed to break, and began to retreat into his own mumblings. "It's all my fault. I could have stopped this. I'm responsible for everything. It's all my fault."

Unknown to him, footsteps approached from the castle until Ambi walked into sight, her face as ashen as the scenery around her. While Vaati's spell had turned everything to stone, he'd also released her from her spell as well, and she'd woken up to see herself back in Labrynna, just as the sorcerer had promised. She appeared to be in shock at seeing her kingdom turned to stone, but something else had shaken her up even more. She could see her brother curled before Vaati's feet, repeating over and over to himself that he was to blame.

"Roland!" Ambi's pace quickened until she was running towards her haunted brother. She placed her hands on his hunched shoulders gently, and searched Vaati's face for answers. "What did you do to him? You said-"

"Ambi… you're back? Thank goodness, you don't deserve to suffer for… for what I have done. It would have been better if you'd never known." Roland murmured, his hands still clenching his head, tormented. "I caused Hyrule suffering. I caused Labrynna to pay the price. It was me. Me…"

"No! I don't believe it, brother, you're in shock. Why is the kingdom in this state?" She rounded on the sorcerer, then, fury masking her fear. She pointed a finger accusingly at Vaati, who continued to look at the stone landscape he'd created. "Vaati! You forced him to a false confession. That is clear to see!"

"No… no Ambi you're wrong. It's my fault," Roland repeated.

The young princess whirled around, her voice rising in panic as well. She'd come to meet her brother again in the hopes that he would make sense of what was going on, to tell her that he wasn't the one to cause all of Hyrule and Zelda's troubles, not to see him like this. "That can't be true, Roland. Say it isn't true. Tell me that Vaati forced you to take the blame!"

"No, I did it. Wizzrobe. Alchemist. I ordered him to cause the plague. I ordered him to make a poison to erase Zelda's memories. I did it all, at the risk of Hyrule's fall. It's all my fault." Roland's words were hurried now, like water pouring out of a broken dam. Ambi was silent for a while at the admission, and then tears welled up in her eyes when she realized she could only accept her brother's guilt now.

"But…" she tried to deny it one more time, "but why? Why would you do that? It's not like you Roland. I know you. You wouldn't do such a thing."

"I'm a coward. I couldn't stop it. I had to do it… she said it was for them. I did it for my people. I should have stopped it, but I couldn't. I'm a coward."

Vaati, who had been quiet for some time now, stirred. His head tilted slightly with suspicion. "_She?_"

Roland continued to babble to himself in broken words. "I believed her. She showed me the danger that surrounded Hyrule. I needed to protect Labrynna with whatever means possible. She showed me how. I shouldn't have listened."

Now Ambi's brows were also becoming furrowed with concern. She wiped the tears away from her face, and knelt down so that she was level with her hunched brother. "Who are you talking about, brother?" she whispered.

"I wanted to stop her. The plague, the deceit, it was all too much. It felt wrong. It was wrong. But it was too late. She threatened to destroy my people's faith in me. I couldn't. I can't. Labrynna needs me. I couldn't stop her. I did nothing but listen, and now my kingdom is… my kingdom is-"

All of a sudden, Vaati stormed forward and grabbed the whimpering king by the collar, pulling him up close to his seething face. "_Who are you blabbering about?_!" he snarled impatiently.

For the first time since he'd been shaken, the light in Roland's green eyes returned and he looked back at Vaati's fiery red ones. The king sighed deeply, and he gave a single, slow nod.

"Her name is Elise. Elise, the White Maiden."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Hurried, urgent steps ran down the stairs that spiraled down from one of Hyrule's many castle spires. She needed to make preparations to deal with what she'd just discovered, thanks to the help of Maribel's investigation. Princess Zelda was on her way to find a messenger so that she could find and summon Elise, the White Maiden.

She and Maribel had tried to find all sorts of alternative explanations that would clear the White Maiden's name from suspicion, but the more they investigated her the more likely it seemed to be that she was the one behind everything. _Everything_. Not just her memory loss, but also Hyrule's plague as well. It was unnerving, and she still had a difficult time believing that such a righteous woman would do something so ill-willed.

It had started with a letter that Impa had found, partially burned in the fireplace of her room. Maribel the poe had asked for the letter from Impa so that Zelda could look at it, and they'd spent the next several days comparing it to handwriting samples from the people who'd entered the castle within the past several weeks. It would have taken a discouragingly long time if it weren't for her team of monsters that helped her make the comparisons. Once they'd narrowed it down to a handful of people, she'd gone to make some inquiries about what they had been doing on the day she'd lost her memory. Her questions led to two people in particular, both of whom were located in the castle grounds just before her memory loss: Elise and Roland. The handwriting matched Elise, but Zelda had later found out that the maiden and the king had been in close correspondence which made her suspicious about the king's refusal to help Hyrule unless Vaati was defeated.

Aside from Elise's handwriting matching the one on the fake letter found in her room, Zelda really only had a gut feeling that the maiden was behind all of this. Of course, it was founded on several good reasons, but she hoped she could talk to Elise herself and hear her side of the story. Roland, too, since Zelda suspected that he wasn't completely free from blame.

Although the princess was nervous about the confrontation with Elise, she was also… excited. She could just feel that everything was falling into place, that everything was beginning to make sense. Clarity was tortuously close.

And… when everything made sense, when they'd solved it all and taken the weight of blame off of Vaati's shoulders, then they could be together again. He could come back, to her, where he needed to be. She could make it right again, fix everything that was wrong between them. She realized now that she'd been wrong and unfair to make him wait patiently for her while she selfishly dismissed him because she'd been worried about what her people would think of their relationship. She'd always put him second after her kingdom, rather than talk, _really_ talk, and come to a good compromise. Relationships were about compromises after all, and just because he'd once been a kidnapping evil sorcerer didn't mean she could refuse to meet him in the middle.

Zelda smiled slightly as she determinedly made her way down the stairs, thinking about the first thing she would say when they finally reunited. Maybe, just maybe, she would be brave and actually tell him how she felt. She'd forgotten to let him know how she appreciated him, how much she depended on him, because she'd been an idiot. She'd been too proud and afraid, thinking that somehow he'd make fun of her if she'd said anything, or that she'd… lose some kind of unspoken game between them. It was really, really stupid. A relationship wasn't… a game. Maybe it had once begun as a game, back when she was still a captive at the Palace of Winds, but now it was more than that. Love wasn't something to hold back: she of all people should know that.

_I'm going to tell him. When I see him again, I'll let him know how I feel._

The patter of feet down the stairs suddenly halted, and the princess's eyes widened in surprise when a damp cloth covered her nose and mouth. The scent was floral, but also pungent and acidic. She began to panic when her consciousness began to fade, and she desperately tried to turn around and see her assailant before the darkness took her. The princess wrenched her neck around until her eyes locked with those of her attacker.

It was a woman in white, with snow white hair and the gentle, pure beauty of a shrine maiden.

Her mouth parted when she realized who it was, and then her eyes rolled back as she blacked out, collapsing into Elise's arms.

"Shhh, it's okay princess," the White Maiden cooed at Zelda's limp figure. Elise gently lay the princess on her lap. She sighed, speaking in a remorseful tone. "I am glad I checked back on you. I didn't realize that your curse had returned. I am sorry, princess. It seems that my first cure was not strong enough to keep the curse from coming back." The white maiden brushed a lock of red hair away from the sleeping Zelda's cheeks. A tear ran down Elise's face as she was wrought with emotion. "This time, I made sure that the curse wouldn't affect you again. The cure is stronger, more potent than the last. You may not remember much at all, but the cost is not too great for the curse you've had to suffer. You poor thing. You will no longer have to suffer those wretched memories of the sorcerer anymore. Nothing will curse you ever again."

Elise's arms wrapped around Zelda in a tight embrace. "I will save you, Princess Zelda. I will make sure to it as the duty of the White Maiden."

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><p>fleets: Sometimes I think people in Hyrule etc. forget just exactly what Vaati is capable of since Zelda's kept him under a leash all this time. I sometimes forget, too, since most of the stories I write him in involve him losing his powers to a certain extent :P Still, I like to think that he does have the ability to end an entire kingdom at his whim, and the only reason he didn't do so for Hyrule was because he needed to find the forcehad-no-motivation-to-do-so.

I thought I'd have more to say about Elise, but I hope Elise just... speaks for herself in this chapter.

How screwed are we? Well the cure to the plague is kaput, Hyrule is still affected by it, Zelda permanently lost all memory of Vaati, and Labrynna is a lifeless stone slab. On the bright side... oh wait.

**MasterShortPantsx3: **I'm kind of sad I had to axe DesPonte since he's such a quirky guy, but alas he was created to die for this story. It's going okay so far, I just wish I could update faster!

**Cheza the Flower Maiden: **It's not made explicit, but that was part of the reason why Vaati kept her as a stone statue until he was done wrecking Labrynna and making Roland feel very, very bad about himself. :P He has a heart in his own wretched way

**Lord Siravant: **I kill my characters you should be used to this by now XD (jkjk) Good guess about Roland :)

**AquilaMage: **Everything's doomed! Ah, I see you're a return reader from Avilux? :) I think I only mentioned the monster-reincarnating idea in OA or so. I don't really explain it here since the readers would need some back reading of my other series, but that's exactly right, it's _because_ he's a renegade that he won't be coming back. Ever. Monsters do come back (sans memories) after they die, but renegades are a special case of wizzrobes: wizzrobes are demons borrowing a bit of human (e.g. the body) whereas renegades are more like humans borrowing a bit of demon (e.g. the magic). DesPonte will still die and come back, but his entire personality would be gone - he'll just be a generic, forgettable, rule-abiding wizzrobe with no memory of why he's there. I kind of made this up on the fly though while writing the stories so there might be some huge plot hole I missed (I hope not lol, but it's possible). Keeping track of all of the stories I've written so far is starting to get difficult!

**Sorceress V: **There was a reason why I bothered mentioning the wizzrobe guild in the very beginning of the story, and DesPonte's death was it :P He was doomed to die from the very start, the poor guy.

I really need to stop making characters just so that they can go die lol

**eureka93: **I figured I didn't write enough about Vaati being a big bad bully this story, so I hope I got that out of my system this chapter XD It was pretty fun writing him like this again

**Aerois: **RIP in pieces of pepperoni DesPonte. In pieces. Glad to still hear from you! Helmaroc has been one of my favorite minor characters since I wrote a character based off of him (somewhat) in my last huge project Avilux. He'll probably appear in quite a lot of my stories :P

**GamerxOtaku: **Unexpected is what I always aim for, thank you! I hope I keep it fresh until the end! :)


	21. Revelation

fleets: I admit i didn't look as closely for writing mistakes/etc. this chapter, so I'm sorry if you run into weird sentences and stuff. My impatience got the better of me D:

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 21: Revelation <strong>

"It was during this time that she appeared. I had no reason not to trust Elise – she was one of the most trusted shrine maidens before and after the princess's kidnapping, and there's no denying how much of her time she placed in protecting Hyrule from falling to chaos. She presented her case, saying that she needed my help to protect Zelda from a curse that you had placed on her. I agreed, and she introduced me to the one who had saved Labrynna from a plague earlier."

"To my surprise, the individual had been none other than a wizzrobe. I should have refused the help of a monster, but Elise seemed to trust him and she gave me her word that he was the one who had saved Labrynna once already. I decided to listen to her, since she was an esteemed maiden after all, and she informed me that this wizzrobe, our "alchemist," would help us create the cure for the princess of Hyrule. All he needed was some diluted poison samples from the swamp water where the Manhandla lived."

"I should have been suspicious then, but what do I know about creating cures? Maybe the poison would turn into a cure if it was combined with other things? I don't know! I had my hands full trying to keep my kingdom together that I didn't realize I should have been more suspicious. I visited Zelda on my own before they tried the cure in case it didn't work, and that she might come around on her own, but ended up becoming an irrelevant detail. The cure had apparently been a success, and now there was talk that Zelda had returned to reason and would help banish the monsters from the land."

"The next time I heard from Elise, she told me I was to visit Hyrule again and offer a deal: for Hyrule to defeat Vaati in return for providing a cure for the plague that now affected it. To my shock, the plague was the same one that had affected Labrynna before, and I of course questioned Elise extensively because at this point I had become suspicious about our alchemist. It turns out that he was the same one who had caused the plague in Labrynna in the first place, and Elise had been aware of the fact! I suspected that the one who caused the plague on Hyrule was also the same one who had caused the plague in Labrynna."

At this Vaati smiled bitterly. "You have to wonder if the plague on Labrynna was a practice of sorts for DesPonte to see if it would actually work on Hyrule."

Roland nodded, and then continued. "Elise didn't like my cautionary attitude, and began to threaten me, saying that she would reveal to everyone that I was working with the blasted wizzrobe. Even worse, she said she would show everyone that I was responsible for both plagues, and that even if I tried to defend my case, the truth was that I had been involved in erasing Princess Zelda's memories which would be enough to cause an uproar in my kingdom. I couldn't have my kingdom's trust in me destroyed now, and I foolishly judged that once you, Vaati, were gone, we could put this all behind us and keep going with our lives." He shook his head sadly, "At this point I was shocked that Elise would do such a thing, to ruin an entire kingdom just so that she could frame you and have people further antagonize you, Vaati, for it. I wanted to stop, but I wasn't thinking straight."

"Unfortunately things did not go as planned. Apparently you had found a trail to follow, and we had to make sure that trail would not lead to Elise or myself. I had my soldiers hunt down the Manhandla, in case the monster might reveal what we had been doing there. Later, I was alerted to the fact that you had met with the alchemist, which would place great risk that you would figure out what we had done. Elise told me to simply send a letter to some wizzrobes about the alchemist's whereabouts to solve the problem, and so I did."

"You probably know the rest, now. You still managed to somehow discover my involvement, which led to this confrontation today."

Vaati, who had been listening quietly up until now, stirred. Something about the king's accounts had caught his attention, and he smiled bitterly to himself, "Ah, so that's why Elise was still roaming around the castle that day," he murmured when he remembered the day when Elise had yelled at him when he'd been sitting on the roof of Hyrule castle. Undoubtedly that had been just before the priestess had snuck into Zelda's room to place the troublesome poison that compromised the princess's memories. He mentally kicked himself for not chasing her out of the kingdom that day when he'd had the chance.

"And that's why DesPonte was discovered by the other wizzrobes so quickly after we found out about his role with the plague," Ambi said in a hushed whisper, her head lifting from her brother's shoulders. She remembered when she and Vaati had run into Elise and the Links, and how Vaati had made some angry comments about DesPonte's involvement in Labrynna at the time. "Elise overheard us when we were talking about him."

Roland paused, and then gave another heavy sigh. "This all happened because I failed as a king. You were right, Vaati. I am a coward; a coward who was too afraid to listen to his own conscience and do the right thing. I place no blame on Elise: she may have had the ideas of this entire plot, but I was the one who made it possible. I do not ask for your forgiveness, but I do ask that you spare the rest of my kingdom who should not have to carry the burden of the mistakes I've made."

At this, Vaati scoffed and shook his head disdainfully at the king who was sitting miserably next to his feet. "If you think Elise is blameless, then you are still a coward, you idiotic king." He laughed bitterly, "Did it never occur to you that now that your 'alchemist' is dead, killed because of Elise, that Hyrule will no longer have a cure to the plague?"

The king paled. "The wizzrobe, the alchemist, is _dead?_"

"What did you _think_ was going to happen when you sent a message to the wizzrobe where their renegade was?"

"I… but… I did not think that was what…" Roland trailed off in shock.

"You're an idiot," Vaati snapped.

"If Labrynna could be of any help-"

"Because Labrynna can be of _oh so much help right now_," Vaati waved his hands towards the kingdom of stone, sarcastically, and the king stuttered to silence. The sorcerer took a few more seconds to survey the silent kingdom, and then he seemed to have made up his mind on something. He was done here. He had no more time to waste with a king shocked to stupidity and uselessness. He stretched, and then he began to move about as though making last minute checks to make sure he'd done everything he'd come here to do.

Ambi noticed, and she wiped away the remaining stains of her dried tears from her face, and began to get up as well. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find Elise, of course," Vaati stated simply, his voice cold. "She was with the Links…" he wondered aloud.

At this, Ambi jumped to her feet and rushed over to the sorcerer's side earnestly. "I'm going with you!"

Vaati frowned, somewhat taken aback. "And why should I take you with me?"

Roland, too, sounded worried and anxious at his sister's request. "Ambi, I don't want you to get involved in this," he pleaded. To his dismay, his little sister only became upset.

"I'm _already_ involved in this!" she exclaimed. "It's her fault that Labrynna was dragged into this in the first place. As its princess, I deserve to have a word with her!"

Vaati shooed her away, and then he scowled in annoyance when the princess refused to budge. "You're only going to get in the way."

"Oh, is that right? Then maybe I should have left you to die from the Helmaroc King earlier, huh?" Ambi retorted, her hands firmly on her hips in a defiant manner.

At this, Vaati's cheeks flushed crimson, and Ambi figured he looked like a goldfish from the way he opened and closed his mouth, flustered. "I-! Augh, fine! You princesses have the worst kinds of memories!" the sorcerer eventually threw his hands up in the air.

Ambi gave a small smile, and then her expression became stern and determined. She hopped on to Vaati's claw when the sorcerer turned into his wrath form, and just before they left she looked back at her broken brother. "Roland, don't worry. Labrynna will be okay. I'll make sure to it." She reached out a hand towards her brother who had weakly stood up and walked over to them. Roland grasped her hand, and she returned a strong squeeze. A promise. "Wait for me. When I come back, Labrynna will be saved. I promise."

"_That's for me to decide, isn't it?,_" the giant eye floating next to her asked in a disgruntled tone. The sorcerer was surprised, then, that instead of a frown, Labrynna's princess instead returned a bold smile.

"I'm putting all my trust in Zelda's judgment of you now. You won't let us down."

Vaati blinked. Although his expression was difficult to read, considering he was a gigantic eye, there was a brief moment where it was almost as though he'd returned an incredulous smile.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"_I need to let Zelda know what we just heard,_" Vaati said as they flew towards the direction of Hyrule as fast as they could. Ambi was in his left claw, looking towards the distance with a determined expression, trying not to look behind her where her kingdom had turned silent. She nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything. Vaati grumbled to himself, annoyed. "_I can't get in touch with her through my sentries for some reason, though. She keeps shutting them out with light magic, and that's not like her. I wonder if anything is wrong…" _he added.

"Does she usually answer?" Ambi asked, somewhat nervous about the hint of worry in the sorcerer's voice.

Vaati didn't answer her question, and instead said, _"We have to go to back to the castle._"

It wasn't a very comforting response. Ambi wasn't sure what would happen when they reached Hyrule. She was aware that Vaati was still at large according to pretty much everyone there. In addition, the princess of Labrynna was accompanying him: if she looked like she was going along with him willingly, then that would put Labrynna in a tricky situation. Or they would say she'd been cursed, just like Zelda. Either way, she hadn't thought of what to do if they were confronted when they arrived in Hyrule.

Ambi reached over behind her head and pulled her hood back up over her face. Suddenly, however, she noticed Vaati slowing his speed and her preoccupations of being recognized disappeared for the time being. "What's wrong?" Then, she squeaked when Vaati suddenly zipped downwards towards the surface. Ambi hastily held on to her hood to keep it from flying off her head from the abrupt wind. When she opened her eyes cautiously, she froze when she realized who they now faced. "The heroes…" she said in a hushed voice.

Green, Blue, Red, and Vio were walking along the dirt path towards the direction of Hyrule castle. Upon seeing Vaati and Ambi again, the four heroes unsheathed their swords and kept a wary distance from the violence-prone wind mage. "Are you looking for trouble again, Vaati?" Blue asked.

"_Where's Elise?"_ Vaati demanded. Sure enough, the white maiden who had accompanied the four heroes was nowhere to be seen.

"Why do you want to know?" Vio asked.

"_Just tell me where she is. I don't care about you fools._"

"There's no way we'll tell you where she is!" Red exclaimed.

At this the great eye floated closer, menacingly. "_I wonder if you're working with her too," _Vaati wondered aloud, "_Maybe I should take care of you idiots first._"

Ambi sighed loudly, and then gave a sharp whack at the claw that held her to get the sorcerer's attention. She shot an apologetic look to the four Links, before she reminded Vaati exasperatedly, "Do you never learn? Didn't we have enough of this just a few days ago?"

For a split second, it seemed like Vaati was going to respond with an angry retort, but to Green's surprise the sorcerer gave an annoyed shrug and backed off. Then, he asked in a tone of barely restrained frustration, "_Why is the priestess not with you?"_

The four heroes exchanged uncertain glances with each other, confused by Vaati's new, more civil approach. Usually, any confrontation with the sorcerer ended up with a fight, often because Vaati goaded them to it. Eventually, Green responded cautiously, "We had an errand with the blacksmith."

"_So where is she?_!"

The four Links were stubbornly silent for a while. Just before the wind mage lost his patience again, Ambi explained apologetically, "We just visited my brother, the king of Labrynna, and were informed that Elise may have done something terrible. If we can find her, we may be able to save Hyrule."

At this Vio arched a confused eyebrow, but it wasn't as confused as it could have been. Green, who had been looking at the other boy's reaction carefully, thought that it was almost as though Vio had expected something like it. He recalled his conversation with the purple Link earlier, when Vio had taken him aside and suggested they keep a close eye on the White Maiden. "We wouldn't be able to help even if we wanted to," Vio supplied, to the others' surprise. "We separated after we went to the blacksmith, and we don't know where she went."

"But we really don't want to help you," Blue cut in with an offended look on his face. Then, he asked slowly, "but what do you mean, she did something terrible?"

"_I don't really feel like explaining the whole story right now,_" Vaati said impatiently, "_but she's basically behind everything."_

"…Everything? What do you mean, everything?"

"_Why don't you use your imagination?"_ Vaati snapped. Then, he clenched his free claw irritably. "_You four are as useless as always. No matter, I suppose I'll speak with Zelda first…" _he mumbled to himself. His eye narrowed slightly, somewhat, as he peered at the four heroes standing in front of him. "_Still, I can't have you brats running around freely, causing trouble for me. I wonder, too, if I can use you to bring Elise to me."_

Without warning, the sorcerer's claw shot forward, grabbing Green and lifting him up into the air. The other Links shouted in surprise, and they ran forward with their swords drawn to help their other self. Vaati, however, was faster, and the great eye took to the air: one claw holding Green and the other claw holding Ambi. Vio, Blue, and Red tried their best to run after the sorcerer, but it didn't take long for Vaati to fly out of their sight. Wheezing, they tried to catch their breath when they gave up running after the sorcerer, and the three looked at each other, troubled. Green had always been the one to keep the group together as a leader, and now he was kidnapped by Vaati. "What now?" Red asked, worried.

"Vaati said he was going to speak to Zelda, so he's probably headed for the castle," Vio replied. Blue agreed.

"Yeah. He was flying in that direction, too."

The three nodded, determined, and then began to move quickly towards the direction of the castle. They didn't get very far, however, before a familiar voice stopped them. "Link! Over here!" The voice was faint and from some distance away. They slowed to a stop to see where it was coming from, and they noticed a figure standing on a cliff across one of the ponds in Hyrule field. From where they were, they could see the person was clothed in Sheikah blue.

"Impa…?" Blue asked incredulously, surprised to see Zelda's guardian waving over to them. The three changed direction and made their way over to Impa. Blue didn't understand why Impa was all the way out over in the middle of Hyrule field instead of helping protect Zelda. First they run into Vaati, then Ambi tells them that Elise has done something terrible, and now they come across Impa, far away from the castle. What was going on?

"We need to go back to the castle, Impa! Green, Ambi, and Zelda are in trouble!" Red hollered as they approached the guardian. Just as they got closer, however, they all stopped abruptly when they were finally able to see what was behind Impa. Blue's jaw dropped, and Red's hands flew up to his head in surprise. Even the usually calm Vio stared at the scene behind Impa, speechless.

"I think," Red finally stammered, "I think I had too many potions this morning."

XXXXXXXXXX

Green had long since stopped yelling at Vaati to let him go. Part of the reason was because Vaati had decided to shake him violently in order to shut him up. Another reason was because Ambi, who was younger than him, was making him feel pretty ridiculous for causing a ruckus while she watched him almost pityingly. Instead, he grouchily resigned himself to the fact that, for now, he could do nothing but let Vaati take him to wherever it was he was taking him.

They were almost at the castle now. Green could just make out the gray stone walls of the castle as they approached it. He wanted to speak to Ambi about what was going on, because cursed or not she seemed to be willing to answer his questions without glaring at him or insulting him every now and then. Unfortunately, Ambi was too far from him, sitting comfortably in the sorcerer's right claw on the other side of the giant eye. He wondered what Vaati and the young princess had meant when they had said that Elise had done something terrible. During his travels to find all of the elements, Elise had seemed like a fairly normal girl. He even respected her a little for her determination to venture into the dungeons with him; even though she appeared terrified by the monsters they encountered, her desire to save Hyrule let her fight alongside him. He couldn't imagine her doing something "terrible." At the same time, Vio's suspicion of Elise was something he couldn't completely forget.

Without warning, Green's stomach lurched as they quickly descended. They still had some distance to go to reach the castle, and Green wondered why they were taking what appeared to be a detour. He looked down over the sorcerer's claw, and then he stiffened when he recognized two people standing in the middle of the field, waiting for them.

It was two, radiant women, one dressed in pure white and the other garbed in the princess's dress.

It was Elise and Zelda.

Green was speechless, which wasn't too surprising since he didn't usually talk much. However, the normally talkative Vaati floated down before them, also completely speechless. The sorcerer couldn't understand what Zelda was doing with the White Maiden, and there was something about her expression that made him… uneasy. There was something about the dullness in her eyes, the somewhat blank stare that made her seem less alive than before. Zelda was in front of him, but at the same time, she wasn't. The giant eye slightly narrowed to a glare of suspicion at the priestess next to her.

"So you finally show yourself, sorcerer!" Elise strode forward boldly, pointing a daring finger at the giant black eye that towered over her. Vaati recalled the time when she had confronted him a while back, when he'd been sitting up on the castle roof, and he remembered how the priestess had been shaking in her knees as she tried to stand up to him. This time, however, she was fueled with some unknown confidence, and it was Vaati's turn to be troubled. Zelda neither said anything nor made any indication that she recognized Vaati, or even Green and Princess Ambi. Elise paid no mind, and continued speaking, "Today, in this moment, we will finally end your evil reign. The princess is cursed no more, and she will never fall to your vile influence ever again! From this day forth, Hyrule will be free!"

Vaati had stopped listening to Elise after she'd mentioned the curse, and was now staring at Zelda blankly. His claws had fallen towards the ground, and he'd dropped Ambi and Green without noticing what he'd done. His thoughts had turned into an empty whiteness. She couldn't be saying what he thought she was saying. It couldn't be true. He wanted to make Zelda say something, to reassure him that everything was fine, but the princess only looked at him like a confused, broken doll.

And then he knew. This was Zelda no longer.

"What is she talking about, Vaati?" Ambi asked, and the sorcerer nearly panicked from the fright in the other girl's voice.

"_Zelda… your memories…_" Vaati asked agitatedly. Then, anger flashed across the gigantic eye when Elise placed her hands protectively around the silent princess's shoulders.

"Your curse was powerful, sorcerer," Elise said spitefully, "and as such the repercussions of the cure took a bit of a toll on the dear princess. She does not remember much at all. Do not worry, I made sure the cure was powerful enough that you can never curse her _ever_ again."

"_Cure her?_!" Vaati screamed, "_You've broken her mind! Can she even speak?_!_ She's like an empty shell of what she used to be!"_

"I can speak." Zelda's words cut through the air like a whip, immediately silencing the angry sorcerer in surprise. However, that was all she said, and it was almost more painful than if she'd said nothing at all. Even Green was taken aback by the change in the princess.

"Elise," Green asked worriedly, "is… is Zelda alright?" He flinched inwardly when he realized he couldn't ask Zelda herself because he almost expected her to stare at him like a ghost, and he couldn't bear that.

"She's fine," Elise snapped, a flash of raw anger streaking across her face defensively, as though she herself hadn't expected the princess to be so… blank. "She's just a little disoriented right now. Besides, the princess herself requested to confront the sorcerer with me to end this once and for all. Today. That is proof enough that Hyrule will be saved!"

"_Zelda, say something. Tell me you recognize me," _Vaati's normaly booming, confident voice came out as a plea. While the sorcerer became increasingly agitated, Zelda simply turned to him with a confused, blank expression on her face.

"Enough! This has gone too far, Vaati, Sorcerer of Winds! Your evil ends today! With the power of the Four Sword, Hyrule will seal you forever!" Elise twirled her ivory staff and pointed it at the sorcerer who was still in shock at the developments. The staff glowed brightly, bathing everything in holy light, and then a powerful blast charged towards the black eye. Vaati tried to avoid taking the blast, but he was caught unprepared. The eye closed in defense, readying for the holy spell to hit him.

The spell collided into a great shield of light magic. Elise shrieked in surprise as the light from both spells blinded everyone in the vicinity. When her eyes adjusted again, Elise stammered at the person who now stood between her and Vaati. "Y-you! But… but that can't be. How is that possible?" She pointed a shaking finger at the person before her.

The enormous black eye slowly opened to look at the person who had decided to save him. Somewhere on his right, he heard Ambi gasp and somewhere on his left, he could hear Green making some kind of incomprehensible sputtering noise from bewilderment. Vaati would have made fun of the Link if it weren't for the fact that he, too, was also struck with incredulousness.

"T-There's… _two_ Zeldas?_!"_ Ambi finally exclaimed.

Indeed, the person standing between Elise and Vaati was none other than Princess Zelda herself. At the same time, the ghostly Zelda was still standing next to Elise. Both of them looked as real as Zelda could be real: they both had that striking strawberry blond hair that Vaati was fond of, those blue eyes he could stare into forever, and that cute button nose. Elise, panicked, looked from the Zelda standing next to her, to the Zelda that now stood in front of her, and then back to the Zelda next to her. "There's two… I don't… how?"

The second Zelda lowered her hands, although they were still crackling somewhat from the spell she'd cast earlier. She slowly lifted her eyes so that they bore into Elise's.

"Elise," the second Princess Zelda said softly, in a voice with a sheer cold undertone, "I will not allow you to harm another. Not while I remain standing."

* * *

><p>fleets: I really want to spoil everything right now, but we're so close to the end of the story that you'll hear everything soon anyway.<br>The next chapter may (or may not) take a little longer than usual. I want to get it just right, and I might even do a 2 chapter update instead of a single chapter update. You'll see the reason why when I do post it. Hopefully you guys won't have to wait _too_ long though :)

Thank you so so so so much for all of your support so far though! I can't stress that enough, and I know I'm sounding like a broken record but it's true!

**Lord Siravant: **She's probably one of my top 10 worst/most annoying characters I've ever written.

**Lady Kiridia: **The way you describe Elise as obsessed is pretty close to what I was going for haha. You'll see why in the next chapter I think. And ahhh I really want to say more about Zelda but you'll just have to wait until the next update :P

**Sorceress V: **According to Elise she did lose her memories permanently... but now there are two Zeldas. What's going on? :P

**Mjbiz: **lol I love this reaction XD

**Guest: **Indeed. I think the Elise fan club has a grand total of zero people in it.

**Black-fox: **I can probably show you a little more badass... ;) I can't say much about the ending, but I usually try to keep people guessing until the last chapter, so all I can say is I hope you like what I have planned out!

**Dark the shark: **Thank you!

**MasterShortPantsx3: **The world would be happier without Elise: I think that's the general reaction I'm getting out of everyone lol.

**Flufux: **A psychic! XD As for skepticism: determination is a powerful thing, and there are few people as determined to "save" Hyrule as Elise is right now.

**eureka93: **I haven't heard a single positive response about Elise so far lol. I mean, even I don't like her much. Argh I really want to say more, but that would spoil what's going to happen next. I hope it'll be unexpected enough though :)

**Aressia: **D'aww thank you! And hurray for surprises! I have a few more up my sleeve for the next few chapters, so I hope to catch you by surprise the next update :)

**SweetestChick: **I did XD ...except now there's 2 Zeldas apparently and I reaaaally want to say more but I can't. I tried updating asap! I just couldn't leave that chapter like that when I had more surprises for everyone. :)

**Kurai-Renkinjutsu-shi: **I think you summarized what's in store for Elise pretty well hahaha. I'm pretty sure no one likes her, either in the story or in real life. As you can probably tell, Link will definitely play a role. I'm dying to say what, but I can't, so I guess that just means I have to... update faster? XD  
>It's interesting you say that, actually! I definitely wanted to make 'normal' people be villains this time around, because you know what they say about evil and good intentions and whatnot. Thank you for the review, it made me happy when I saw it :D I hope I can keep you on your toes until the very end!<p>

**Aerois: **Your review had me all excited and grinning because there's just so many things I want to say in response to that buuuut... you'll just have to wait until the next chapter because spoilarzzz XD

**AquilaMage: **I felt like I had to do Vaati's god-mode-powers some justice: after all, he _did_ wish on the wishing cap to turn into a god of sorts. Vaati vs. Zelda would be awesome! Like, terrible but awesome. You can probably tell from this chapters end that that's not where this is going, but I kind of wish I'd thought of that earlier because that sounds pretty epic. I hope the ending I have planned is just as epic though (a;sdkfj want to say so much more but can'tttt)


	22. Hyrule United

fleets: SooooOOO I started playing Dragon Age Origins. And then Dragon Age 2. For the past week I've been binging Dragon Age askdj;lakjf so if you don't hear from me that's... probably why lol. Because I'm definitely going to get Inquisition immediately after this aaaah

I was actually going to submit this as a triple chapter update and finally conclude this story in one big farewell mega update, but then I discovered that some parts I was planning on were longer than I'd thought.

I mean, I _guess_ I could have waited until I'd finished a triple chapter, but I think the 3000-4000 word chapters have been working out well so far so I'm sticking with that pattern, and I think I found a good place to end for this chapter. Anyways, I'll shut up now.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 22: Hyrule United<strong>

No one had expected the appearance of another Princess Zelda. Everyone held their breath, as though the first to speak would break the illusion and something horrible would happen. Even the skies seemed to still, and the grey overcast clouds revealed only a flat, motionless sky. Everyone, except the first Princess Zelda who was standing next to Elise, who had begun to crack an eerie smile. The new Zelda glanced over towards the other Zelda, and then gave a single nod while ordering, "Maribel, you've done well. You can turn back now."

The other Zelda's smile cracked into a wide grin, and her eyes suddenly flashed yellow. Sharp fangs were visible now, as the disguised Maribel threw back her head with a cackle, and then stuck a long, rope-like tongue out at the disturbed White Maiden. "Too bad your little poisons only work on _mortal_ souls, you wretched witch!" With a twirl, the fake Zelda turned back into the grey, ghostly poe who floated over next to the real princess.

"Begone you vile creature!" Elise shrieked, waving her staff at the cackling ghost. She then looked on frightfully at the real princess, who was watching her with a stern gaze.

"I had Maribel take my place when I was informed of your return to the castle. It seems as though it had been a wise choice," Zelda said quietly, in a manner that suggested anger. It wasn't a loud, explosive kind of anger, but the kind that simmers in disappointment with the persistent burn of hot coals. After a few seconds, she exhaled deeply, and then turned her attention to her friends who were still staring at the development in open-mouthed shock. "Vaati, it is good to finally see you again," she said with a weary, tired smile. She hesitated, as did the sorcerer, as though they had more things they wanted to say, but both of them said nothing. Both gave a small, barely noticeable nod of acknowledgement: their greeting could come later, they had other things to settle now. Quickly, and perhaps a little embarrassed, the princess turned her attention instead to the other two. "Ambi, I apologize you got caught up in this, and you, too, Link."

Link shook himself from stupor after being addressed by the princess. He was still trying to digest what he was seeing and hearing. So… who was cursed now? Was anyone even cursed? Vaati and Ambi's claim that Elise had done something terrible echoed in his head, and things were starting to point to the dark conclusion that the person he'd been helping all this time, Elise, was not person he should have been helping. He pinched the bridge of his nose, suddenly feeling heavyhearted. "I… don't understand what's going on right now."

"Don't listen to a word she says, Link!" Elise cried, waving her staff threateningly at the princess, "She's under Vaati's thrall, she's cursed once more."

At this, Ambi snapped angrily, stepping forward confrontationally. The younger girl threw back the hood that shadowed her face so that she and Elise would be eye to eye, and stood between her and Vaati. "I'm done hearing about curses from you, white maiden! You're delusional!"

Elise wasn't fazed, but something about being confronted by so many like this had struck something in her. Her voice wavered, and her words were becoming more rambled and quick. "We know that you're the sorcerer's little pet, no better than a possessed demon," she dismissed Ambi, trying desperately to keep her own story together. There was no way that Zelda and Ambi were right in the head, no way that they would say the things she was hearing from them now. Eventually, her pale lips pulled back in an angry, determined snarl at the giant eye that was floating in front of her. "The only way to end this is to defeat the source of the curse, to defeat the sorcerer once and for all. Defeat him, Link!"

There was a heavy, uncomfortable silence. Then, Like gave a brief sigh, and then said firmly, "No."

"What?" Elise lowered her staff and raised her head in surprise. Confused, she confronted Link who was looking at the space between his toes, his brows furrowed together as though he sincerely wished the situation could be different. The white maiden reached for his hand, "We tempered your sword with the elements, did we not? We can end this forev-"

Link pushed her hand away, shaking his head vehemently. "I said no!" he exclaimed. Then, he guiltily turned his face away from Elise who was now looking at him with a concerned, betrayed expression. "I think… I think we should all think about this. Something's not right."

"Link, don't you dare betray Her Grace now," Elise said, her voice hushed in disbelief.

Link could see that the white maiden's grey eyes were taking on that suspicion-filled glint that he'd seen when she spoke to people she thought were 'cursed.' How could he not see it before, how Elise had become so delusional that anyone who stopped to seriously think about Vaati's innocence immediately became a victim of some mysterious 'curse?' It filled him with shame that he'd believed her story at first, because he didn't want to believe that Zelda had forgotten about him when he had been trying to rescue her from Vaati's palace. The truth wasn't always what one wanted to hear… "I'm not saying that Vaati's right. I'm saying we should hear what Zelda and Ambi have to say before we do anything rash."

Elise's hands shot forward, claw-like, "If you're not going to do it, then _I_ will! Give me your sword!"

Link was quicker, and he stepped out of her reach. "No," he stood resolutely now, shielding Vaati along with Ambi.

"_Give it to me!"_

"You'll have to strike me down before you do that," Ambi spread her arms defensively, getting between Link, Vaati, and Elise. The princess's palms flared a warm light, magic sparking between her fingers in warning. "I heard what you did, Elise. What you did to my brother, to Labrynna, to Hyrule, and Zelda. Not only did you poison Zelda, but you also had a hand in the plagues in both kingdoms. Nothing justifies what you did."

"What do you know, demon servant?" Elise hissed. She almost looked ready to bring the fight to the younger princess like a white, coiled snake. "What do you know of all of the sacrifices I made to put an end to Vaati's evil once and for all?"

"You caused… the plague Elise?" Link asked slowly in disbelief.

Elise quickly dismissed Link's question with a wave of her hand. She spoke matter-of-factly, with no indication of remorse or guilt. "I suggested it be done, yes. I only intended it to be temporary, until Vaati was found and defeated. I could not remove the sorcerer's taint from the princess completely, and I needed a motivation to convince her to find and defeat-"

A loud, booming sigh interrupted the white maiden, and Vaati gave a shrug with his wrath form, "_I'm not sure how much more of this garbage I can handle, princess,"_ he glanced at Zelda who was watching the events unravel next to him with a quiet calm.

"Silence, spawn of evil! I will still save everyone that you have cursed with your dark magic!" Elise shouted defiantly at the sorcerer who had spoken.

This was the last straw for Link, however, and now he confidently stood between her and Vaati, no longer feeling guilty about defending the one he'd thought to be a villain. "I've heard enough," he said coldly, raising his sword, preparing to defend any attack that Elise might throw at them. Elise turned her attention to Link, and she looked nearly ready to attack everyone gathered now. She waved her staff wildly towards the group that gathered in front of her; her former companions now creating a protective wall in front of the demonic eye from every child's nightmare. "I don't believe this! Do you really believe that the holy princess belongs with this… this demon? She should have been with the hero, the one who saved her!" She was pointing a trembling hand at Link now, with an almost obsessive, crazed look in her eyes. "Hyrule will be ruined! The only way to fix everything is to undo everything that has happened since the princess was kidnapped, and to let it conclude the way it should have with the Hero and the Princess together.

"_And so her true nature finally shows itself," _Vaati scoffed, while Link took a few steps backwards away from the white maiden, a look of disgust on his face.

"The chosen princess and Hylia's champion, their souls bound through time. Hylia's incarnation must be with the hero, that is what must be! That is Hylia's wish!"

"_And you claim you think of the princess's best interests? Does her opinion mean nothing to you?"_ Vaati thundered.

"Vaati…" Zelda raised her eyes to the sorcerer, surprised by the anger in his voice. He'd kept his cool, scornful attitude up until now. His anger… it was almost like that time when he'd threatened to take down the Helmaroc King for hurting her.

"_You only see the princess, and not the person: people like you have caused her more pain than I ever have!"_

_Oh Vaati… _A pang grasped the princess's heart, heavy with bittersweet guilt. Zelda lowered her gaze again, her fists clenched as she thought back to several days ago, when she'd come to the realization that after all the times she'd accused him of being selfish for the past year, she had been the one who had been selfish. He had given her everything he could, while she… she had given him nothing but excuses. Few people separated her from her duty; they always saw her as a Princess and all of the responsibility that came with the title. And no one, not a single person she'd ever known in her entire life, had ever challenged her on this view, that she could make choices as a person and not as the figurehead everyone wanted her to be.

Oh the irony that the person who truly saw her as a person was the one who had tried to take her as a trophy.

"Silence!" Elise shrieked.

"Zeldaaa!"

They all looked towards the direction of the voice. It sounded a lot like Link's, but it was coming from far away. Zelda squinted her eyes, shielding them from the light of the sun as she tried to get a better view of where the voice had come from. Quickly approaching from the distance was a huge number of people, followed by a small dust cloud that had stirred up from the hundreds that trampled the ground as they made their way over to where she was. As they approached, Princess Zelda's hands involuntarily rose to cover her mouth which had opened in a shocked gasp.

It wasn't just people, the things that were approaching them. It was all of the remaining townspeople in Hyrule accompanied by hundreds and hundreds of monsters from all over the region. Some of the large, hunkering moblins carried people on their shoulders, and it seemed that even the wild desert moblins had joined in, letting their fierce desert boars pull carts full of people swiftly. Stalfos and Darknuts, Poes and Ghinis, and many more monsters marched with the procession, and when she saw who was heading the march, tears began to pool around the corners of Zelda's eyes as she was overcome by emotion.

Impa was at the head of the crowd, riding one of the desert boars alongside who she recognized was the moblin leader who'd once challenged Vaati. Pulled in a cart behind her were the remaining Links, Red, Blue, and Vio. Red was waving towards them excitedly, yelling her name. "Zelda! We're here!"

When they finally made it to where Zelda and the rest were standing, Impa jumped down from the back of her boar, and then knelt to the ground before the princess's feet, bowing her head as she did so. "I hope we made it in time, princess. It took some time to gather everyone after we'd heard you were going to confront the real culprit."

Zelda had planned the confrontation with Elise, and thought she'd known what to expect. She'd anticipated facing her along with Vaati, Princess Ambi, and Maribel, and although Link had been unexpected, she hadn't been too surprised by the parties who'd gathered. She'd also known that Impa might show up as well, since she'd had another poe find her and tell her what was going on. However, she'd never expected this kind of entrance. For the past year, ever since she'd returned from the Palace of Winds, she'd had to wage a constant battle to convince the people of Hyrule that monsters were not creatures to be feared. Now, she was seeing the remaining people of Hyrule standing side by side with them, giving her all of the support they could. Hyrule field was transformed into a sea of faces, people and monsters alike, and they were all looking to her for direction.

The princess's composure broke, and she stammered as her voice trembled with emotion. "I-Impa, please do not kneel for me. I don't… I-" the princess suddenly embraced Impa, a tear rolling down her cheeks as she buried her face in her ex-guardian's shoulders. "Thank you Impa! You don't know how much this means to me. I am… I am sorry we had to part the way we did."

Impa placed both hands on Zelda's shoulders gently, "You and I both know that I won't leave you, no matter what happens. I know why you did what you did. There is no need to apologize."

"But this…" Zelda glanced past Impa at the hundreds of Hylians gathered around them. The same ones who had been suspicious of her, and had whispered discontent behind her back but just loud enough so that she would hear, were now standing before her in a show of support. She even recognized the old lady who had once approached her to talk about her 'curse.' That same individual who had once condemned monsters was now sitting boldly on the shoulders of a towering moblin. 'Martha,' Impa had called her.

"They see what you wanted them to see, princess. We all do," Impa took her scarf and wiped away Zelda's tear stained cheeks. "Hyrule couldn't have held itself together without the monsters' help."

The princess's smile momentarily disappeared, and she turned towards the monsters in confusion. "But I thought monsters didn't… why do you help so freely?"

"Kekeke, well we were ordered to do so," Maribel giggled. Some of the other monsters nodded in agreement.

Vaati turned away with an annoyed look when everyone turned their eyes on him. Finally, not being able to tolerate so many admiring stares directed his way, the giant eye waved its claw irritably. "_It's what Zelda wanted…"_ he muttered huffily.

"We stand with you, Princess!" Someone called out from the crowd, "We stand with Vaati!"

A small cheer rose from the back of the crowd, and then more people began to join until it was an unstoppable roar of approval. The applause and thundering shouts of the crowd, people and monsters alike, was deafening. Even Vaati was now staring wide eyed and speechless at the incredible support, the masses raising their fists in the air and chanting for Hyrule.

"Silence! Silence!" Elise tried to shout above the crowd, but her voice was drowned out by its defiant bellow. The White Maiden flinched backwards when Hyrule's princess walked over to her and placed a firm but gentle hand on her shoulder.

"It is over, Elise," Zelda said as the cheers died down. Her eyes had its former shine again, and the troubled shadows that had been cast over them since her return from the Palace of Winds were gone. No longer was there any uncertainty, any guilt. "I understand you meant well, but your path only leads to divide and sorrow, and that is not the path I intend to guide Hyrule. Open your eyes, and see that our worlds do not have to stand divided. Light, Dark, we can stand together and be more than what we could have been alone."

Zelda spread her arms towards the crowd that stood behind her. As she did so, the ground began to shake, and a fissure cracked along the grass like a bolt of lightning. At the same time something stirred in the sky, but no one except Elise appeared afraid. Hylians and monsters alike looked towards their princess, determined to trust her with their lives. The ground on either side of her exploded, revealing all of Hyrule's greatest titans. The giant worm Moldorm, the great lizard King Dodongo, the stone giant Arrghus, Digdogger, Gouen, and others crawled out of the ground to join their lord and princess against Elise. From the sky, giant creatures fell through the clouds like arrows before they circled low above their heads. In their ranks were the Helmaroc King, the horned dragon Aquamentus, the flying Gyorg pair, among others. The Helmaroc King landed with his talons outstretched, threatening to cleave Elise in two, and gave an earsplitting scream in her face that sent the White Maiden tumbling backwards. "Today, Hyrule stands united!" Zelda rallied, and another roar from the crowd rose in answer.

Legs shaking, Elise slowly stood up, her face betraying her fear as she looked upon the powerful boss monsters overshadowing her. She reached for her staff that had flown out of her hand, and she fumbled with it a few times, her hands trembling. "I… I don't believe this," she gasped, her voice hoarse. She crawled backwards like a helpless child before she got back on her feet. She was looking at the scene before her, but it was clear that her eyes remained blinded by her fear. "I have been forsaken. All is lost. Your Grace, I have failed you," she spoke quickly, nervously to herself as she slowly backed away from the condemning crowd.

"Let go of your fear, Elise. It is not too late to fix this," Zelda extended a hand towards the white maiden, but she didn't seem to hear her.

"No!" Elise lashed out with her staff, rejecting the offer. "No," the priestess repeated, her lips trembling fearfully, "No, I won't give up. I will not allow darkness to rise!"

"Elise-"

A bright flash of light erupted, engulfing the priestess and blinding everyone. The force of the energy was so powerful that the clouds above parted, letting sunlight stream through the cracks. When they could see again, Elise was hovering in the air with shimmering gold and silver wings of light like the ones of the Great Fairies. With her white dress floating, wisplike around her as her gossamer wings unfurled, she almost _did_ look like a Great Fairy. However, the maddening, crazed look in her eye revealed that she was far from the nature of one of the powerful benevolent spirits. Gasps came from the crowd, and the townspeople backed away nervously while Zelda and the rest stood their ground.

"Hyrule is cursed, and I will save it," Elise suddenly announced, but it was in an eerily calm voice that was different from her panicked shouting from earlier. She brandished her staff, which had turned into a tall, glowing spear. Before anyone could react, the White Maiden flicked a finger towards the crowd.

There was an explosion from somewhere behind Zelda, and horrified, the princess wrenched her head behind her to see what had happened. There was a small crater in the crowd where Elise's spear had flown, and around it were people collapsed and scattered, flown outwards from the impact. There were some scattered bones, the remains of a stalfos that had taken the brunt of the sudden attack. A nervous murmur came from the gathered crowd as they helped the fallen back on their feet. They scattered backwards when the spear flew back to its owner's hands. "I sacrificed too much for this," Elise said coldly, taking aim with her spear again.

"Are you mad? You're attacking unarmed townspeople!" Blue shouted.

In retaliation to her attack, the moblin chief was the first to respond, and he threw a spear of his own towards Elise who was hovering over their heads. The weapon whizzed through the air, and the White Maiden realized too late. It struck her through the stomach, and someone from the crowd screamed at the gruesome sight. More chilling, however, was what came next. Rather than fall from what appeared to be a mortal attack, Elise smiled and placed both hands on the weapon that protruded from her center. With a single swift movement, she snapped the spear, and the weapon disintegrated into the air.

"The weapons of the tainted cannot touch a holy messenger," she said with a demented smile. Then, just as suddenly as her smile had appeared, it contorted into a savage snarl. "I am the savior! I am the chosen one!" she shouted, her shrill voice ringing in their ears. "I alone survived the Cave of Trials after weeks of torture! I alone was bestowed the powers to end this blight by the Great Fairy herself! Darkness will not overshadow my light!"

The townspeople began to back away in fright, but something prevented them from running backwards and abandoning their princess. The monsters in the crowd began to rally to the front to stand beside Zelda and Vaati while shielding the rest of the Hylians. Taken by their loyalty, someone from the crowd spoke up, "If we run now, we shame the princess! Are we going to let the monsters embarrass us?" A vehement response of agreement rose, and the remaining uncertain expressions vanished as the townspeople decided to stay. Everyone turned to Zelda expectantly. Everyone: a united Hyrule, behind their princess for the first time.

"_Zelda_."

Zelda didn't realize she'd been holding her breath until she heard Vaati's voice next to her. So much had happened in the last few minutes, and so quickly too, that she was still trying to take it all in. She'd been trying to look composed, just as a leader should, but her feelings were overwhelming. It hadn't escaped Vaati's notice, and the giant eye seemed to gaze at her in concern. It had only been a word and a look, but it was enough for her to pull herself together. She flashed a determined smile. "I hope we can talk later, Vaati. I have a lot of things I want to say to you."

"_Let me guess, you're upset at me. Again."_

She chuckled at his reference to their relationship at the Palace of Winds. Then, she walked over and placed a hand on his claw. She smiled briefly again, before she turned her attention to the crazed Elise with that familiar, fiery determined expression. Vaati blinked once, slowly. He hadn't known how tense he'd been until he'd seen that expression again: perhaps he'd been afraid that he'd never see that look on her face again. He nodded, and it almost seemed like the giant eye smiled as Zelda gave him a small tug forward. "Stay by my side."

* * *

><p>fleets: This was one of those times where I had a really great scene in my head, and then when I sat down to write it my brain just wanted me to write something stupid like "the clouds were cloud-like. the angry people were angry. people yelled at each other." In other words, juggling multiple characters in a single scene can be more difficult in writing than a visual media like animation unfortunately... maybe this will finally get me back to submitting digital drawings again, idk.<p>

And at last, everything comes together. This scene was probably as difficult to write as the final revelation scene in OA where I tried to put all of the pieces together. My only regret, looking back on this story, was to not give Elise more attention. I was so scared to make it super obvious that she was the main villain that I think I ended up being too conservative about revealing her backstory/motivations. I'll probably say more in my final farewell author's note, but Elise was based partly from the worst of Zelda fandom's shippers (Zelinkers in Elise's case, but it could really be applied to anyone) :P (I don't have any ill will towards avid ship-warcaptains, mind you. It was just... convenient for my character-crafting purposes :P )

Also I wanted to throw in a bit of a twist on the Great Fairy's upgrades you encounter in the games. Sometimes, the Fairies give Link a Heart Container which makes him more resilient to damage. I wasn't sure how that would actually manifest in, er, I guess 'real life,' (?) but I decided to take the interpretation literally. So Elise just got stabbed with a moblin spear, no big deal.

2-3 more chapters left. I think the next one would be the final sendoff double chapter update. Thank you everyone for sticking by me. It's been a long, fun run :)

**Hestra Hassildor: **I'm sorry about the cliffie! I think watching too many TV/anime shows got me into the cliffie style... I guess I couldn't handle it too, since I managed to update in less than a month :P

**Sorceress V: **I'm starting to feel a little sad about the inevitable ending, too, but it's been really fun to write this! I'll definitely miss it for sure. Maribel to the rescue :)

**MasterShortPantsx3: **I think I wanted too much stuff to go down and it turned into a nightmare (but not in a bad way...?) to write lol

**Alley Cat Sunflower: **What a cute icon :3 And thank you so much for your super kind message! I think I've gotten worse about cliff hangers over the years, and I blame serial TV shows/anime for that. Honestly I didn't think I'd write so much about Vaati when I first began writing. It turns out he's a great character to play with, because he can be as multilayered as you want him to be (since Nintendo barely gave us a lot of material to determine a solid personality for him, but just enough to come up with an interesting base to start with). And oh no, please don't let me stop you from writing Vaati stories! I think Vaati could use more love in the community :)

**Lord Siravant: **Elise vs. (almost all of Hyrule). This might be a painfully short fight lmao

**Flufux: **Elise vs. everyone: she should move somewhere far, far away. Maybe Subrosia :P  
>Hahaha if Vaati wasn't such an arrogant dumb dumb he should have gone straight for Link, locked him up in a dungeon somewherekilled him where he wouldn't be able to go on a huge quest to get all the upgrades and eventually become so overpowered that Vaati wouldn't be able to do anything against him. But alas, that would mean our videogames would be awfully short. We're at the finale indeed... I need to start thinking about what I'm going to do with myself after I finish this :(

**GamerxOtaku: **No worries! I have a policy not to reply to responses until the next chapter update (the final chapters being an exception: I respond personally when I see the replies in my inbox since there will be no more chapters :) Except... if you're a guest I won't be able to reply unfortunately :( ) so I couldn't have said anything until now. But yes, Zelda knew Elise was up to something, so she had Maribel take her place in disguise :)

**eureka93: **Good old Maribel! Zelda asked her to take her place, which is why she was so... 'ghostly.' (shot). I have sooo much I want to say in response to your review but a;lskdj you're just going to have to wait until the last chapters!

**Cheza the Flower Maiden: **"scene of Vaati and Zelda working together and being total BAMFs." You read my mind XD

**Kurai Renkinjutsu-shi: **Hi again! And whoo you get all the rupees because you guessed it! I was pleasantly surprised you got the whole Maribel-as-Zelda thing right :D  
>I actually didn't know that about Hyrule Warriors' Wizzro (don't worry about spoilers for me though, I don't think I'll ever be able to play it since I don't have a Wii-U), but that's interesting and useful to know! I went with the Maribel-Zelda switch since the whole thing with poesmonsters disguising themselves as people came up a few times in other games (I think a Poe Sister did something like that in another game, and also Blind from ALttP was a monster in disguise). Well, now I'm curious about Wizzro (guess I'll go look at videos of HW now :P )


	23. Together, One

fleets: Ok, I had this done for a few days now but I was selfishly holding on to it because 1.) I forgot I ended on a cliffhanger the last chapter and 2.) I had a stupid idea that somehow waiting until I had finished the story to upload everything would be more epic. But... that would take forever, and a really cool person helped me see the wisdom in submitting this chapter now than later. Sooooo here it is! Hope everyone is surviving the summer heat.

Also titles what titles... seriously running out of ideas for chapter titles hah

Also fight scenes! UGH I HATE WRITING THEM but i hope it's okay.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 23: Together, One<strong>

They were gone. They were all gone. All of them. Anger rose in her chest as Elise saw Zelda smile, _smile_, at the giant, demonic eye. Zelda was supposed to be the reincarnation of the divine goddess Hylia, and it was impossible for her to look at the demon Demise's dark kin with such… affection. It was wrong. Of course, the princess was not at fault here. No, it was clearly some evil influence that Vaati had managed to plant in her head, in _everyone's_ heads, and now they were all turning against her.

Why couldn't they see what she could see, plain as the sun in the sky? Why couldn't they see that she was the only one who truly cared about Hyrule's future, that she was the only one who could save it from evil? If she let them lose their way here, then Hyrule may never be free from the evil servants of darkness…

No. No, she was done trying to convince them to come back to their senses. The problem ran deeper now, and no amount of convincing would save them. They could no longer hear her now, and the only way to end this was to destroy all of the monsters. She never anticipated that the powers of the dark forces would prove to be so powerful that the entire kingdom would be affected. There was one cure, she had to defeat Vaati: maybe they would come back to their senses once he was dead. Maybe then the curse would be lifted.

In order to do that, she needed the Four Sword.

Elise summoned a magical barrier, deflecting the arrows and spears that flew from the hands of the moblins and stalfos below. She looked around until her eyes finally found the four Links who were gathered at the front of the crowd near Vaati, Ambi, Impa, and Zelda. Somehow, she needed to get one of their swords, and then use it to strike the sorcerer down. It was going to be difficult, but she had to do it. She was the only one Hyrule could count on, now, and this was what she'd been preparing for ever since the princess had been kidnapped by Vaati. She alone had gone to the Cave of Trials, and bested all of the monsters of all one hundred floors. The days (or maybe weeks? It was impossible to tell time in those dark caverns) had been grueling to complete, and the only thing that had kept her going was the knowledge that Hyrule needed her. It was her duty as one of the sacred maidens who was chosen to protect the princess. She'd finally made it to the final floor, where the Great Fairy had been a welcome sight to see. Impressed by her determination and pledge to Hyrule, the Great Fairy had granted her light magic that rivaled the princess's, and increased survivability. She, Elise, had the power to fix this. She could do it. She had to.

_The goddesses will protect me,_ she thought to herself, and she dove, her hands outstretched towards the Links. As she approached, Moldorm leaped from the ground, ready to crush her with its maw, and a swirl of boulders flew through the air, summoned by the one-eyed golem Arrghus. With the wings granted by the Great Fairy, she flew past the boulders, and then she launched her spear at Moldorm's glowing tail. It struck, causing the monster to recoil, and she sped around it towards her targets.

They were yelling, shouting things at her now, but she ignored them. She would not give them the chance to curse her, too. She called her spear to her hand again, just in time, too, because the spiked, mole-clawed eye monster Digdogger dove at her with surprising speed. Elise whipped around, throwing her free hand out and summoning a blast of magic, blinding the huge monster. Unable to see, it crashed into King Dodongo, who'd also been charging towards her.

_Almost, I'm almost there!_ with a burst of speed she launched herself towards the Links again. _I must have that sword!_

She wound up her spear-arm, ready to strike Green, who was closest to her. At the last minute, she teleported behind him, and swung his spear to strike him down. _I did it!_

_CLANG!_

Elise looked with eyes wide at the gigantic purple claw that had blocked her attack. Vaati had defended Link. She jumped back quickly, and gritted her teeth as Vaati's Wrath loomed over her.

"_Your opponent is me," _Vaati growled, ignoring how Link was looking at him with an expression of awe and surprise.

"But you and the hero-" Elise stuttered, but she never got to finish. A hail of arrows flew towards Elise from the stalfos and moblins archers, piercing the White Maiden and turning her white dress into a deep shade of red. She screamed, but only for a moment when white light disintegrated the arrows from her body and she regained her breath. The multiple injuries and lacerations caused her blood to seep into the white of her dress until every inch of it had turned red. Her face was contorted into a savage snarl, and with the bright red of her dress she looked as demonic as the real monsters. Someone from the crowd gasped "Blood Maiden!" while another shushed them. Elise yelled something in an incomprehensible gibberish of rage, and before anyone could react, she flew towards the unsuspecting Red with surprising speed, knocking him over and stealing his sword.

"Red! Are you okay?" Blue ran towards the red-garbed Link and helped him back on his feet. The other boy seemed unharmed save for a few scrapes.

"I'm fine but my sword-"

A rain of stray attacks, piercing white shards falling from the sky, interrupted them. Not a moment too late, Princess Ambi casted a barrier over the onlookers, protecting them from harm. She returned a reassuring smile to the relieved heroes, and then squealed when she was almost thrown off her feet by the powerful gust that blew past her. Vaati had shot into the sky, close on the trail of the new Blood Maiden Elise.

"Zelda! What should we do?" Ambi asked the other princess after she steadied herself. The fight against Elise was high above them now, beyond their reach. Zelda was watching the fight with a calculated eye, as though carefully considering whether she could, or should, intervene.

"Vaati seems like he can handle it…" Green said, but there was still some uncertainty in his voice as though there was something… wrong about what they were seeing. Vaati did indeed have the upper hand. The sorcerer wasn't giving Elise a chance to strike back, and the attacks were merciless. Powerful, controlled winds ripped through the maiden like razor blades, shredding her like scissors on a ragdoll. Elise raised her spear, but her arm went limp when hot beams hit her from the dozens of bat-like sentry eye that were now circling the air. The onlookers winced or covered their eyes when Vaati took it further and finished her off with a beam nearly five feet wide. The great eye flashed as it charged the attack, unleashing the powerful blast a few seconds later and engulfing Elise.

A hush fell over the crowd as they held their breaths, wondering if it was all over. Zelda was the first to notice something was wrong, and her brows were knitted and tense. "Helmaroc!" She shouted, and she ran towards the gigantic bird with an urgency that made the others nervous.

Meanwhile, Vaati glared at the charred remains of the White… no, _Blood_ Maiden that was floating limply in the air. The smoke hadn't cleared completely yet and it was somewhat difficult to see, but her head was rolled to the side and the way her right arm hung low from her shoulder suggested that it might have been broken. Still, Vaati had to credit her for her determination: Elise still held on to Red's Four Sword with a vice grip even though she was undoubtedly dead.

"_Hmph. Tenacious even in death,_" Vaati muttered. He floated over, irked that the dead body was still floating in the air and refusing to fall. The sky was his; how dare it not fall to the ground like dirt it was. He ignored the tiny sphere of light that circled around the body before it flew away.

A flash of bloodshot grey eyes startled him as the charred body suddenly twitched. Before he could react, the battered body of Elise lashed out with tremendous power, the Four Sword aimed at the flying eye.

The sorcerer backed away quickly, but not before the blade cut through his right arm, creating a deep gash. "_Augh!_" Vaati exclaimed in surprise. He grimaced, and retreated several feet away from Elise who had healed back. Then, he remembered the sphere that had been flying around the body just after her death. "_Damned fairies,_" he snarled.

"Let light," Elise gasped, catching her breath, "prevail!"

It was stupid of him to forget about those blasted things: Link had used them against him before, and he'd forgotten about them in his arrogance. He clenched his fists. Or rather, he tried to. The blade had cut through his right arm, wounding it enough that he could no longer move it at all. The eye stared at the injury in shock. This… never happened. His Wrath Form was supposed to have barriers so powerful that no blade could ever damage him without breaking the barrier first. The last time Link defeated him, the hero had to deflect his own attacks at him to destroy the barrier enough to actually damage him.

"Aaaaaah!" Elise charged at him again with the sword again, screaming. A sentry burned through her shoulder, but she didn't seem to notice nor care about any injuries she accumulated.

"_Tch!_" Vaati instinctively brought his remaining arm up to block the attack, but was taken by surprise again when the blade sliced through his obsidian claws easily. They shattered, and the sorcerer was forced to retreat away from Elise's second swing.

"This," Elise screamed madly, "This is the true power of the Four Sword awakened! The re-tempered steel will finally defeat you!" Her bloodshot eyes were far gone, and for a rare moment, Vaati actually had a flash of doubt reflected in his expression.

The blade struck down, the steel singing with a deadly ring as it sliced through the air. "You will never rise again!"

_Clang!_

The great eye slowly opened, cautiously. Vaati hadn't even realized he'd shut his eye, waiting for the sword to strike him down. As pitiful as that was, the newly tempered Four Sword had power that he'd grossly underestimated. His expectations, however, were defied again when he realized that holy magic had shielded him from the blow. It was powerful, and he could feel the energy around the barrier crackling through the air. Normally, he would have shrunk away with a feeling of disgust from such a thing of light magic, but this one felt… comfortable. He turned towards the beating of wings that approached him. Princess Zelda arrived, sitting on top of the Helmaroc King and her fingers glowing with the same soft white of the shield. "I will protect you," she said with a quiet, determined strength.

"_Heh,_" Vaati chuckled, and then turned back to face Elise. "_I suppose I can share a victory._"

XXXXXXXXX

"To be honest, I didn't think Elise was…"

"That crazy?" Blue finished after Red trailed off, looking away from the fight above and looking at his feet. Red hung his head solemnly, and then Blue hurriedly walked over, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, it wasn't your fault…"

The sound of something shattering tinkled through the air, like glass crystals breaking. Red winced, and he briefly looked towards the sound only to look away again, guiltily. It had been the sound of Zelda's barrier around Vaati starting to break. As powerful as the princess's magic was, the power of the new Four Sword was overwhelming. "If I hadn't let Elise take my sword then-"

"It wasn't your fault Red!" Blue shook the other boy's shoulders earnestly, but Red only sighed.

"Vaati can't win against the Four Sword. Even if it's just one sword, it's more powerful than it's ever been after we tempered it."

"He needs a weapon to counter it," Impa, who had been fairly quiet up until then, finally spoke. Her expression didn't betray emotion, but the way she was intensely watching the fight above suggested that she was becoming worried about the fight high up in the sky, seemingly out of their reach.

"Crazy idea, but can we get one of our swords to Vaati?" Blue asked.

"He's a demon. The sword is holy. It would weaken him more than anything…" Green shook his head. He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Vio.

"He can't," Vio said. Green noticed the small curl along the side of the other boy's lips, a knowing smile that appeared whenever Vio had an idea. "… but there's someone up there who can," Vio added.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zelda could not let this end in bloodshed. She rarely became angry, and even though Elise's actions made her want to scream at her in frustration, she could not allow anyone to die, including Elise. A tiny part of her wanted to… wanted to see Elise brought to justice (especially since attacking not only herself, but Vaati, Impa, her kingdom, and everyone she loved made the issue with Elise exceptionally personal), but she knew that wasn't the way this could end. If blood was spilt in front of everyone, including some children who had snuck into the procession of monsters and Hylians, it would send Hyrule towards the path of bloodthirsty vengeance.

Her fingers trembled as the barrier she kept in place sustained another powerful attack from the crazed, desperate Elise. She frowned as a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead, tickling her nose. She'd clearly underestimated the power of the Four Sword: she'd assumed that it wouldn't be able to break through a shield of light magic, but its new power combined with Elise's frenzied blows was formidable. She could feel the shields beginning to crack with each blow.

There was something terrifyingly impressive about the way Elise held her own against Vaati, even to the point of pushing him back. She appeared as a thorned rose, her now blood red dress whirling as she flung herself towards them. The spear of light she used to distract Vaati, and Vaati could do nothing about the Four Sword since it was created solely to counter him. This should have been an easy fight, it shouldn't have been a fight at all, and yet she and Vaati were just barely keeping up. It was a testament to the power of conviction.

"_Zelda!"_

Vaati's shout brought Zelda out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see a spear flying towards her head. Her barrier was protecting Vaati, and that left her defenseless. The princess brought her hands up reflexively, and the barrier protecting the sorcerer shimmered and vanished in the moment of distraction. Zelda closed her eyes as her hair whipped around her face, a dark shadow moving between her and the spear to protect her. Amidst the chaos she heard Elise's now-maniacal laughter along with an enraged exclamation from Vaati. The princess gasped when she saw that Vaati's right arm was… _gone_… from taking a vicious strike from the Four Sword in order to save Zelda.

"Vaati!"

"_That arm was done anyway," _Vaati growled. His anger radiated from him, furious that Elise would choose to attack Zelda instead. Elise came at him again with surprising speed, but he was quicker this time. The great eye gleamed, and a powerful gust whipped through from Elise's left, catching her off balance. Meanwhile, Zelda quickly recovered and brought back the barriers while she watched with growing concern. If they didn't think of something soon…

"My Lady, the heroes are trying to get your attention!"

She felt the Helmaroc King adjust his flight as he caught her attention so that she could see who he was talking about. Looking down, she could see the four Links, Impa, and Princess Ambi yelling at her to get her to notice. She couldn't hear what they were trying to say, and she was thankful for the Helmaroc King's keen raptor eyes to be able to notice what was going on. "Circle as close as you can to them, but make sure we don't get too far from Vaati so I can keep the barriers," she ordered, and she felt the initial drop jolt through her body as the Helmaroc King immediately veered towards the ground.

It was clear that the Links had figured out a plan of some sort. As they flew closer, she could now hear the crowd join in, chanting a single word until she could finally hear what they were trying to say. It grew louder until it also caught the attention of Elise and Vaati. "CATCH!"

Zelda realized what it was that they were trying to do. She shouted at the Helmaroc King as she dove off his back, falling towards the ground, "Helmaroc! Help Vaati!"

"Don't be so reckless princess!" Elise screamed as she turned her course towards Zelda. She was slammed backwards, however, as the Helmaroc King hurtled back towards the Blood Maiden. Talons struck for a moment, but then the great bird shrieked and retreated when the Four Sword cracked its helm with a single blow. However, it was enough to buy time for Zelda, who had her hands outstretched towards the Links.

She saw Impa, holding on to Green with one hand and Vio with the other, as she rose on one of the stone golem Arrghus's floating boulders. She watched as Ambi ordered the newly persuaded boss monster to help Impa, Green, and Vio into the air, and the three were thrown towards her. With one Link on each arm, Impa swung Green and Vio up higher. Vio and Green found each other's hands as they reached the height of their leap, and then Vio grabbed Green's arm and threw him even higher. And then she saw it, the glimmer of silver steel flying towards her like an arrow as Green mouthed the word being chanted, "Catch!"

Hands outstretched, Zelda reached for Green's Four Sword. Her fingers wrapped around its hilt as she fell towards it. She could feel overwhelming power emanate from the sword, like her light magic but magnified and focused to a single weapon. It was power to dispel evil, to bring light to darkness, hope and salvation incarnate. Zelda flipped over so that she was looking at the sky. Elise was floating high above her, Red's bloodied Four Sword in her left hand. In a way, Elise would believe she was worthy of wielding such a sword, but she was blind. It was a sword not meant to be in the hands of one such as Elise.

Fingers, soft, brushed against hers. Strong, gentle hands held hers, guiding the Four Sword, and a cool wind wrapped around her, slowing her fall. For a moment the sun glittered overhead, and as she floated in the air it was almost like she was with the goddesses themselves. Her eyes followed the hand that held hers, down the elbows, past the shoulders, and finally to the face that was looking at her with an unspoken promise to protect her.

_Vaati._

He was finally next to her, no longer in his Wrath form. Her hand in his as they held the Four Sword together, the touch of the wind as they floated in the air with the sun shining against their skin… in that moment she could only think that this, what they were doing, was right. This was the way things were supposed to be.

No words needed to be exchanged except for a single, mutual nod. Zelda was lifted back into the air, and Vaati guided her right hand with his left, pointing the Four Sword at the startled Elise.

"N-no. But that's impossible. Evil cannot wield the F-Four Sword…" Elise stammered, her conviction wavering.

At this, Vaati smirked, "I can't," he said as he and Zelda flew towards the priestess, aiming the sword towards her, "but _we_ can!"

Together, Vaati and Zelda's Four Sword clashed with Elise's. With a final swing, Elise's sword was struck away from her hand. Before she could recover, Vaati closed the distance, letting go of Zelda's hand and placing his two fingers against Elise's forehead. Elise stared back at the sorcerer's cold, red gaze with one of dreaded realization. "No… please…"

Vaati sneered, and then uttered four words with heavy finality. "To Stone With You."

Vaati was too close for Elise to block the spell. In an instant, she was turned to stone, her shocked expression still etched onto her face. As the last of the light from the spell dimmed, cheers erupted from below, stifling the thud from the stone statue eventually landing heavily onto the dirt when it was struck down from the sky. The sorcerer flew back and caught Zelda in his arms, and they slowly descended to the welcoming crowd of both monsters and Hylians. Neither group seemed to care that they stood amongst former enemies in their shared joy of victory.

As soon as Zelda's foot touched the ground she was nearly tackled by Red who had run up to hug her, his face a mess from sobbing happy tears. She giggled at Vaati's somewhat feigned irritation from getting caught in the middle of Red's enthusiastic tackle, and laughed when Blue came over to drag the other boy off of them only to be smushed together when Ambi jumped them. Around them, everyone was hugging, laughing, crying, and laughing some more. Zelda smiled at a moblin who had a very confused look on its face from having its hand shaken in congratulations by the man next to him, while a girl was showing a stalfos how to hug next to it as it (almost bashfully) held out its bony arms. It was a bizzare but heartwarming sight.

She could have spent hours watching all of the joy around her, but she turned her gaze away towards the one person she'd been waiting, _waiting_ to see again for so long. Vaati had his left arm wrapped around her protectively while he tried to shoo away the people who had gathered around to celebrate the Princess and her Sorcerer. His efforts to send away a huffy nurse who had decided to help his damaged right arm wasn't going too well either.

Zelda must have been staring, because Vaati finally noticed her looking at him and for a moment his irritated expression turned into a blank, startled one. Suddenly bashful, she turned away, unsure of what to say now after all this time. While they'd been separated, she'd recognized how many things they needed to work on together but they'd both been too stubborn to really face each other and talk about it. They'd never discussed feelings, or anything 'complicated,' because she was too busy and he was too proud.

By the time she looked up again, the crowd had left them. Ambi, who was just a little too good at reading the atmosphere, had apparently led them (including, miraculously, the huffy nurse) to a forward-thinking merchant who had brought food and drinks along for the occasion, so that she and Vaati would be alone. Vaati's startled expression had also vanished, and was instead searching her face thoughtfully as though he'd been thinking the same thing she had been.

But… that was it, wasn't it? Right now, they didn't need to say anything, because there were some things that words just couldn't describe. She reached for him as he reached for her, and as he pulled her closer she placed both hands on his face and kissed him. She closed her eyes, falling, melting against him, and she was surprised how different this felt. There was no hesitation, no second thoughts about 'rightness' or 'wrongness' this time, no second thoughts on what the people would think of her. She could feel Vaati's hands loosen for a split second, perhaps taken aback by how different she was, and then respond back, breathing in deeply as he held her tightly again. She could feel her heart beating against her chest, or… was it his? She couldn't tell. Whatever walls they had before were gone.

There was no holding back this time. She'd held back for far too long. Zelda pulled away for a brief moment, but kept her hands on Vaati's face, making sure he was looking at her. "I love you."

Vaati stared at her blankly as the princess looked back with a small smile on her face. However, there was no sign of shyness, no fear, on the princess's flushed face. For a few seconds he was left speechless as he stared at the princess who stood fearless despite having an entire kingdom on her shoulders and her heart completely bare. Eventually, he said quietly, "I… hey, you finally said it." Three words he'd been waiting for since that moment when he'd left to fight Link at the Palace of Winds. It had become a habit to wait that he'd almost forgotten that he'd been waiting for them. He stumbled over his words uncharacteristically, taken off guard, "It's just… well I guess I was waiting for you to… I just didn't think that you… I mean you know how I fe- never mind." he said when Zelda seemed puzzled by his response.

Zelda smirked, "What, you're not going to brag about how you've _finally_ won me over? And the rest of Hyrule too?" she joked.

"Brag? Oh. Uh… right."

"Oh come on, Vaati. You're absolutely wrecking this!" Princess Ambi shouted from a distance, startling them both. The young princess of Labrynna had returned sometime earlier to check up on them, and now she was snickering from the sorcerer's reaction. "Also I told you so!" she winked knowingly, and she laughed out loud when Vaati became visibly flustered. He muttered something inaudible under his breath, and before anyone knew what was going on, he'd transformed back into his Wrath form, grabbed Zelda with his good arm, and rapidly flew away. Impa walked over to where Ambi and Green were standing, shaking her head. "Kidnapping the princess _again?_" She sighed, but there was a small smile on her face. "Some things don't change, it seems."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So? Where exactly are you taking me?" Zelda asked once she'd had some time to catch her breath. It had been so sudden, and Vaati had been in such a rush. She smiled to herself, thinking about how he was as impetuous as always.

"_Away. From them,_" Vaati grumbled. The wind mage paused, as though thinking through his words carefully, before he continued, "_I'm just picking up where we left off before this whole mess began." _His slightly irritable tone vanished, and was replaced by one of soft hesitation.

It took a few seconds for Zelda to realize what he meant. "Vaati you can't mean… _now?_! Ah!" She squealed when she was suddenly tossed into the air by the giant eye. However, the wind caught her when Vaati's hand wrapped around her wrist. He was back in his Hylian form again, and he beamed his infuriatingly teasing grin that she'd come to love.

"And why not now? Our trip to Holodrum has been interrupted for too long, don't you think?" he gave a playful tug on her arm, and they flew a bit faster towards the kingdom in the west.

"But we can't just leave everyone like that, the monsters are there, I need to be there to help manage the relief efforts, I have to-"

"You're doing that thing you do again, dear," Vaati tutted, putting his other hand up to shush her. Or, he tried to, but his right arm hung uselessly next to his side. It had been damaged during the fight with Elise, and it was covered in blood. Zelda shrieked.

"Vaati your arm! We are definitely _not_ going to Holodrum like this!"

Vaati grimaced, and rolled his eyes. "All right, fine, we'll find a potion seller as soon as we get there. We'll be there for at least week so we'll have plenty of time to find something."

"_A week?_! I don't have that kind of time-" And then, Zelda stopped herself. She blinked slowly, and then lost her voice as she realized what she was doing. _Ah… I'm doing it again, _she thought.

"Zelda?"

She woke from her thoughts, and noticed Vaati looking at her with an eyebrow arched in concern. She looked around, the clouds flowing past them as the wind carried them through the sky, the land far below them. As she watched the tended farms and mills pass by, still functioning despite the fact that a historical battle had been waged only minutes ago, she was reminded that her kingdom was more reliable than she gave it credit for. She had Impa, Link, and all of those people who showed up to help her today to take the burden off of her shoulders. She had Vaati. She didn't have to do everything alone. A distant memory surfaced, when she'd once wished that she could be free, if only for a few days, of all of the burdens that came with being a princess. _I don't have to do this alone. He's right, I can rely on others. Why didn't I notice until now?_ She squeezed the hand that held hers, her smile emboldened. "All right. Let's do it. Let's go to Holodrum."

"Wait… really? Now?" Vaati asked this time, incredulous that the princess had actually agreed. He'd become so accustomed to Zelda saying 'no' that he hadn't truly expected her to go along with it.

Zelda burst out laughing. "Yes! Really!"

And then, Vaati smiled. _Really_ smiled. It was a smile that was unguarded, without any of his usual cynicism. She hadn't seen that smile for a long time… maybe it had been as long as a year ago. It filled her with hope that they were going to do it right this time.

Together.

* * *

><p>fleets: I was really looking forward to writing this. First, I always imagined that Link is really scary to fight against because of his seeming invincibility with fairies, and wanted to use that in Elise's fight.<p>

And ahhhh I think you can see that I've officially given up on trying to control VaaZel fluff. They have somehow turned themselves into the fluffiest little marshmallows before I noticed what was going on, and now they can no longer be unfluffed. If someone told me a few years ago that I would be writing VaaZel as this fluffy fluff-fest I would have laughed, and given them The Eyebrow. Oh well, go and be fluffy, Vaati and Zelda. You have my blessing.

But wait, don't go just yet! The story isn't over, and I still have 2 more chapters to write! (hangs onto readers for dear life) I'm a clingy wet leaf don't leave meee

**Sorceress V: **Aaaah thank you! It makes me happy to hear you liked it! I listened to a lot of epic battle music while writing that chapter haha

**GamerxOtaku: **It makes me strangely happy to hear you say that about Elise, because that was exactly what I was going for. Also partly inspired by exactly those same kind of people, too lol. Ignorance is a scary villain!

**Alley Cat Sunflower: **Twilight Princess Zelda was epiiiiccc I can't get over how much I love the scene where she has her sword, ready to fight Zant. Hehe, I might have another twist or two left before the real End (shifty eyes). Duuuuuude Dragon Age is fantastic. But actually don't play it, it is a life ruiner. You'll forget to eat, sleep, and function like a healthy human being. Totally worth it though XD  
>! Whooo go for it! Goddesses know we need more Vaati authors. An advice I'll share as author to author is no matter what happens, keep at it and don't give up! It is SUCH a good feeling when you're done with a story and you slap on that "Complete" stamp. It's like "wow, I have trouble writing a 2 page essay for school but somehow I wrote a four hundred page novel. I'm an idiot," kind of awesome feeling? Once I finish this story I hope I have more time to read stuff on this site, so if I do I'll check it out :)<p>

**Lord Siravant: **Aaaand yup she lost. Crazies don't know when to give up (shakes head). Ahhh yeah about that sendoff note... it's okay, I'm not about to go on some life-threatening journey to fight the ultimate evil. There are enough heroes out there to do that for me instead :P

**MasterShortPantsx3: **I'm currently estimating 2 more chapters with 95% confidence. And aw, thank you for your kind comments again Master with three short pants :)

**Cheza the Flower Maiden: **As much as I looked forward to writing this chapter, I can't decide which chapter was my favorite to write. Both required about the same amount of epic fantasy music from large youtube collections lol. And ahhh thank you! I never thought I'd ever write a romance/adventure(?) but I'm glad i tried when I hear that!

**Flufux: **Yes, she is. Inspired partly by some of the worst ones in the community, in fact (I'm just glad that there are really nice, friendly Zelinkers who offset the insane ones. likeElisecoughcough). Knight Templar... do you perhaps play Dragon Age too? :D I admit the Blood Maiden thing was something I thought of after Dragon Age 2's Knight Templar Meredith's battle with the whole crazy red lady thing haha. I'm happy to hear that people like Maribel! I definitely didn't anticipate her having so much page time when I first wrote her in WIR (she was more like a placeholder character). She ended up growing on me, and I'm glad she grew on others, too :)

**AquilaMage: **lol if only she realized that irony XD  
>Short battle... yeahhhh I thought it was going to be short the last chapter, until I started detailing the outline for this chapter. If Elise thinks she's the hero of this story, then she should have all of the miracles and upgrades worthy of a hero (like... fairies! XD ). But in all seriousness, determination is a scary thing. I hope Zelda and Vaati were awesome enough together in this chapter! (itried)<p>

**Aerois: **LIKEWISE DAMN THIS COLLEGE EDUCATION FOR KEEPING ME FROM WRITING STORIES (shakes dragon age game disk). Oh uhm... yeahhhh totally the college education's fault i've been lagging. I kind of owe you one for appreciating Elise a bit more after your comment, because in all honesty she was my least favorite villain I've ever written and somehow couldn't manage to hold my interest for that long. But then I thought about it some more with your comment and I realized that she is probably one of the few _main_ villains I've written who had a motivation other than "I want to take over all the things lololol" or "i'm a crazy psychopath let me kill all the things!" It was actually a wake-up call for me to be more aware of better motivations for villains I write in the future, so _thank you for that_. Now she's a top contender of my favorite villain OCs. THANKYOUTHANKYOU

**Black-fox:** Every time I read grublublu I can't help but smile (I feel like I've started using it in my conversations too because I like it so much hahaha. I blame you for that XD )  
>Aww I'm happy to help, and I hope you're feeling better! I'll try to make the ending satisfying for readers: you guys have been so amazing I definitely don't want to let you down! (hugs)<p> 


	24. A New Dawn

fleets: This is it guys, the last one.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 24: A New Dawn<strong>

A week and a half after the battle, everyone was trying to pick up their lives again. It had been a victory for Hyrule, one with historical significance considering it was the first time ever that the kingdom had found allies in monsters, but the cost was high. The cure to the plague was gone with the death of DesPonte, and they were now tasked with trying to find a new one. For now, Hyrule could continue receiving help from the monsters as well as Labrynna after it recovered from its own problems, but the families were waiting for their loved ones and Zelda couldn't keep them trapped in crystals forever.

Link was doing everything he could to help Zelda and Vaati. He'd come to terms with their relationship: who couldn't, after seeing how they worked together in the battle the week before? Apparently they had also run off to Holodrum after Vaati had flown away with the princess, and when they'd returned she'd seemed… happier. It had been the Zelda he'd always wanted to see, but rarely could; a Zelda who was, for once, unburdened by her responsibilities. Free. He could no longer deny that there was a powerful, true bond of trust between Vaati and Zelda. The sorcerer hadn't cursed the princess after all…

In a way, he was kind of relieved that she hadn't been cursed. In his gut he must have known, and it had made him feel all kinds of awful when he'd seen Zelda look at him like he'd betrayed her. He was still a little annoyed that she'd forgotten to let him know that he didn't need to come rescue her at the Palace of Winds a year ago, but he gave her the benefit of doubt: what she'd been through would have been trying for anyone. One of these days he was going to have to think of a really good apology to make up for all of the times he'd doubted her sanity. For now, he was going to help rebuild Hyrule in any way he can. He supposed that was how most of the kingdom was feeling. The kingdom had never been more united than it was now. Everyone jumped at the first opportunity to help, people were making sure their neighbors were doing alright, and even the once arrogant nobles were picking up humble work like cleaning the streets and tending the farms. Not a single soul was guiltless about the way they had distrusted, even openly mocked, the princess's words, and now everyone was doing everything they can to make up for their cruel behavior.

He was on his way to the castle now, to meet up with Maribel the poe. He was alone again, having returned the Four Sword to its pedestal earlier in the morning. He and Maribel were supposed to make preparations to leave for Labrynna before sundown. The poe had apparently become some kind of point-pers-, er, _ghost_, for matters involving Hylian-monster relations. Apparently the poe had spent so much time with the Princess that it… _she_… was the least monster-like out of all of them. But he'd been told that he shouldn't tell her that because she would be most offended. Despite the ghosts' constant complaints about Hylians, however, Link couldn't help but feel that the monster was secretly curious, and even fond of, them.

Link and the poe were to be ambassadors in Labrynna so that they could spread word of Hyrule's official alliance with the monsters: who better than the hero of legend accompanied by a poe? He was making his way through the courtyard when he suddenly heard a commotion up ahead.

"You can't possibly mean that!" The voice, Link judged, was Vaati's. He could recognize that irritable voice anywhere. He approached the voices, and he could see a small gathering by the stairs leading to the main castle doors. He faltered for a second when he saw the large, imposing figure of the Helmaroc King, but continued onwards when he saw Zelda and Vaati there as well. They seemed to be in a fuss over a statue of a… wait. Wasn't that the statue of Elise?

"I mean it. Break the spell, Vaati. This isn't how it should end," he heard Zelda's voice drift through the air.

Realizing what the argument was about, Link interjected, his eyes wide in surprise at the princess's judgment. His pace quickened until he was able to join them. "Break the… Zelda! Elise tried to kill everyone, innocent civilians included! And she plagued both Hyrule _and_ Labrynna! Who knows what she'll do if we break the spell? She's insane!"

Vaati gave Link a glance his way before turning back towards the princess, muttering, "As much as I can't believe I'm saying this, I have to agree with _him_." The sorcerer seemed especially irritated that Link had showed up; despite being allies now, he still held some kind of grudge for having been sealed inside the Four Sword multiple times by different iterations of Link. However, the princess's fervent response that followed quieted him.

"If Elise remains like this then nothing will have changed!" Zelda exclaimed.

"I… can't believe you're actually taking her side!" Vaati snapped back after he'd recovered from his initial surprise.

"I am not taking her side!" Zelda insisted. "She was ruled by fear-"

Vaati looked like he was going to keep arguing, but instead, he gave a tired, heavy sigh. He and Zelda had always disagreed on things like this, and they usually agreed to disagree, but this was one time where he just couldn't. Even Link of all people was agreeing with him. He'd always thought she was way too forgiving and understanding, and couldn't help but be concerned that she would end up being taken advantage of by others. "You're being way too idealistic, princess. Are you saying that you'll excuse everything she's done? You're saying she was 'afraid' so we'll just turn a blind eye to the fact that she didn't hesitate to hurt you?" he asked, his eyes gleaming briefly with internal rage.

Zelda didn't budge. "Don't you see? All of you… everyone is too quick to judge someone to be mentally unwell as soon as someone acts in a way that they don't agree with. You call her insane the same way you called me insane, and where did that get us?" Zelda said vehemently, her nose wrinkled in growing distress.

"Princess this is _not_ the same thing…" Vaati sighed tiredly, pinching the bridge of his nose. Then, he walked over and placed a hand on her back, beckoning her back inside. However, she shook him off, and stood next to the statue of Elise.

"If we can show her what we see, to have an honest discourse together without fear and hate blinding us both, then this kingdom can truly heal." Zelda shook her head, and the way her hands curled into fists, her bottom lip quivering in offence, surprised Vaati again. "If she wishes to fight I will welcome her challenge any number of times! Each time I will fight, and win. I welcome the same to monsters. However, let it be known that nothing will be able to threaten my people when we are united." She brought her face inches towards Vaati's, her brows furrowed with determination. "_Nothing._"

There was a long silence, and everyone gathered exchanged uncomfortable glances while the princess remained resolute. Eventually, the Helmaroc King who had remained quiet up until now, fluffed up his feathers and chuckled. "Heh, well said My Lady," the bird said. Of course, he couldn't help but smile at the princess's words, since they had been the same exact ones he himself had heard when he'd first fought her. He'd mocked her for showing mercy, but she'd put him in his place, saying she would fight and defeat him any number of times.

Vaati threw his hands up in the air in defeat. There was no arguing with the princess at this point, and besides, he almost believed her when she said it like that. He sighed, again, and then glared at Link just for the sake of glaring at him before he stomped over to the petrified White Maiden. The woman appeared just as she had in her final moments, her mouth open in horror with the realization of what Vaati was about to do. She looked so helpless now. It was crazy to think about just how much trouble she had given all of them.

Vaati took a deep breath, and then glanced at Zelda one last time to make sure this was really what she wanted. When the princess nodded, he frowned, and then tapped his fingers on the statue's forehead. Light gleamed as the stone seemingly melted away, and everyone held their breaths as the last of the stone vanished. There was a thud as Elise collapsed onto the floor, shaking in fright.

Zelda knelt in front of her and held out her hand to the other woman who seemed bewildered. It took Elise several seconds to even realize that there were other people in the room, and she looked around cautiously like a frightened mouse in a den full of cats. Zelda waited patiently as Elise took a shaking hand and ran it along her dress, red from her own blood. It was then that she finally noticed Zelda's outstretched hand, and the White Maiden flinched backwards. "W-Why am I here?" She saw Vaati, the Helmaroc King, and Link watching over her, and her fear magnified. Pointing a shaking finger at Vaati, she stammered, "Y-you mean to… to punish me! To torture me!" Elise immediately tried to stand up on her feet, while Vaati rolled his eyes and shrugged as though to say "I told you so." Elise crawled to her feet, "W-well if I am to die, then I will-"

They never got to hear what Elise had planned to do, because in that moment, Zelda grabbed her hand and suddenly pulled her close, wrapping her arms around her tightly in an embrace. "Wh- Princess Zelda…?" Elise gasped.

"Everything's going to be all right, Elise," Zelda hushed her, holding her head closer protectively. "Everything's going to be all right."

The White Maiden's raised fist paused from the princess's unexpected embrace. Still in Zelda's arms, Elise stared past her to where Vaati was standing over them, watching the scene with an unreadable gaze. After several seemingly interminable seconds, the White Maiden lowered her hands, and uncertainty replaced a bit of that frenzied fear. Instead of fighting back, she asked a question in a hoarse, weak voice, "How can you say that, Princess?" she croaked, "How can I believe you, when the world has become everything I've been taught to be wrong?" Small flares of luminous fairy wings that had crackled in an instant from Elise's back were still there, but they had stopped flickering like wildfire.

"Then believe what you see," Zelda whispered, "what you saw at Hyrule field."

Vaati expected Elise to fly out of Zelda's arms and go on a rampage again, especially when she became completely still, her face shadowed and unreadable as she became lost in thought. He'd summoned an extra sentry eye just in case anything did go wrong, but he decided to trust Zelda's judgment and not interfere. When Elise eventually spoke, the flicker of wings disappeared as faint fairy dust, and her shoulders visibly relaxed. They fell heavily against Zelda, and the princess had to readjust her weight to support her. In that moment, something had changed with Zelda's simple action. "Princess?" Elise asked meekly.

Zelda nodded wordlessly to indicate she'd heard.

"I… saw a dream not too long ago," Elise continued, so quiet it was hard to hear. "I saw Hyrule where there wasn't a single monster anywhere, and everyone was happy. It was the Hyrule I'd always dreamed of."

Zelda felt a drop of water fall on her shoulder, and she hugged Elise closer as the other girl trembled, her voice shaking.

"Except I was wrong. There was a monster in that dream. The monster tried to ruin everyone's happiness because of its own selfishness," Elise's shoulders heaved as she tried to hold back tears. She placed her hands on Zelda's arms and pushed her away, and she looked away in shame. "That monster… was _me_." Then, suddenly, Elise grabbed Zelda's hands and placed them in hers, earnestly, as though to stop the princess from saying another word. The White Maiden's hands shook out of guilt, and then, slowly, she reached into a small bag that hung by her waist and pulled out a crumpled document. Without looking at Zelda's face, she pressed the piece of paper into Zelda's hands. "This," she said quietly, "please use this, Princess. Use it, and then punish me as you see fit, for Hylia knows I deserve it for everything I've done."

"This is…" Zelda opened the piece of paper, darkened with messy chemical stains. Inside was written a list of alchemic ingredients, and instructions on how to combine them.

Still avoiding Zelda's gaze in shame, Elise explained, "It is the cure to the plague. I kept a copy of it after… after I had its creator killed. At the very least, free them from the plague. I had intended to do so after I had defeated… defeated…" she trailed off, hanging her head and unable to finish what she'd been about to say.

Zelda only nodded, returning a generous, grateful smile. "Thank you, Elise. You don't know how much this will help us." She took the recipe, and then motioned for Vaati to take it. The sorcerer eyed the White Maiden with suspicion and incredulity, but wordlessly took the recipe of the cure from the princess.

"Please do away with me as you see fit. I deserve nothing less," Elise repeated, this time more earnestly, but still keeping her gaze away from the others. She had Zelda's hands clasped in hers as though refusing to let go until the princess gave her the punishment she asked for.

"Alright," Zelda eventually said, heavily. Elise's fingers relaxed their grip at the princess's words, as though relieved of a considerable burden. "I want you, Elise, to travel to the Village of the Blue Maiden. Go there. Live there," Zelda continued. At this, Elise looked up abruptly, her smile vanishing and her body becoming tense again.

"I don't understand…" she trailed off, searching Zelda's face for some kind of clarity.

"There were other shrine maidens like you in Hyrule," Zelda explained placing a hand on the other woman's shoulders kindly, "One such maiden, the Blue Maiden, is living in a village named after her, and her village survived only because of the help of the monsters during the plague. They are still working to rebuild, and I believe there is much you can learn from them."

Speechless, Elise shook her head as though to change the princess's decision. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice caught in her throat. After her second try, she finally managed a hoarse, crumpled, "No." When Zelda only smiled back, she shook her head again, "No… no you can't possibly… I don't deserve…" she hiccupped, and then she clung to the princess again, now crying without reserve.

Vaati and Link stared at Elise crying on Zelda's shoulders in shock. Both Link and Vaati's fingers were twitchy and tense, ready to jump in to help at the first sign of something wrong, but it never came. Instead, the only thing in front of them was a distraught, repentant creature being comforted by the same person she'd tried to hurt. Link came to an understanding before Vaati, and his fingers relaxed as he sighed. He turned to Vaati who still seemed mildly disturbed by the situation. "I think it'll turn out okay," he said.

Vaati, however, wasn't convinced, and his teeth were gnashed together in frustration. "I don't get it," he growled, his red eyes narrowing behind his bangs. "Elise doesn't deserve another chance."

At this, Link returned the small smile of someone who had been through this before. "Heh," he shrugged, "that's just how the princess is." Then, he gave a solemn nod towards the wind mage. "You of all people should know that by now."

And with that, Link turned to go, leaving Vaati to think about his words, dumbfounded. And then, his expression softened, and he smiled to himself as he shook his head. Link was right, as much as he hated to admit it. After all of the horrible things he'd done to Princess Zelda, she'd ended up believing in him, even saying she loved him. She was a person who was strong enough to give chances without letting anyone abuse her kindness. She was crazy and foolish, but somehow, it worked, and he didn't want her any other way.

He left the two alone to figure things out. As he walked away, he could hear Zelda talking to her about her experiences and adventures, and for the first time Elise seemed to be listening, _really_ listening, without shouting blasphemy and questioning her sanity. He wasn't sure what had actually happened back there to make Elise change, but Zelda had somehow reached her. It kind of reminded him how she'd somehow, without him noticing, had managed to get him to want to be there for her, to want to not let her down. Zelda had that effect on people.

As Vaati walked through the courtyard towards the gates that led out of the castle and towards the town, he passed by Hylian soldiers and Darknuts walking side by side as though there was nothing extraordinary about it. He saw ghostly monsters wandering through the streets in broad daylight, and a flock of kargarocs coasted overhead without causing any sort of alarm from the people in castle town. Vaati smiled, absentmindedly rubbing a finger against the gold frame of his sorcerer's hat as he remembered Zelda's comment about how he'd won her over, and Hyrule too. She gave him credit for winning over Hyrule, but really, it wasn't him. It was her. In her hands she held the power to command the forces of both the monsters and the rest of Hyrule, and he was sure that at her signal, everyone would rush to her aid without hesitation. She'd accomplished what he'd always dreamed of, without the power of a god or a wishing cap. He'd expected to be envious of what she'd accomplished, but it didn't bother him at all. She could have Hyrule. She'd conquered it so completely that he wasn't interested in it anymore.

Not only did she win Hyrule, but she'd somehow won him over, too. And for the first time in his life, Vaati didn't mind losing.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Zelda bit her lip and looked at the paperwork piled on her desk. She couldn't say she missed the sight, but at least it meant that things were getting done and Hyrule was making progress. At the same time, though, she didn't feel as tired as she did a while ago, before she'd lost her memory. Rather than having to read through complaints about the monsters in the area, more and more of the papers were about collaborations and letters of praise about the work being done throughout Hyrule. The majority of them were to ask her for permission about some project to help the kingdom get back on its feet. Reading through them, it seemed like Hyrule could very well take care of itself without her help, and her signing the documents was more like a formality.

It also helped that Vaati and Impa were making strides in helping the people, especially those who lived farther from the main castle town. Zelda didn't know the exact details of whatever it was they were working on, and whenever she asked, both of them told her to relax and take a break. Even though it annoyed her a little since she always had an undeniable itch at the back of her mind that she could always be doing more, she couldn't help but smile at the thought that the two of them were actually working together now. Before, they had been nothing but antagonistic, but after the whole ordeal with Elise it seemed that both of them now held mutual respect.

Impa took most of the public credit for these mysterious missions, mostly because Vaati insisted that he didn't actually want to help anyone and the only reason why he was giving '_minor contributions_' was because he was doing it for Zelda. Still, Impa told her in secret that it was the other way around, and Vaati had been surprisingly helpful and seemed to be a natural at it. Ironic, considering he was infamous for being extremely uncooperative. It was, her guardian had said, almost as though he'd been trained to help people at some point in his life. Curious, Zelda had asked Vaati about it once, but he'd only returned a sullen, "That's stupid," and given her a troubled frown that suggested she'd reminded him of something unpleasant in his past. She didn't press any further, but she did wonder from time to time what he could have meant when he'd muttered something about "those squashable idiots hiding rupees in the grass" after that somewhat awkward conversation.

She smiled and stretched behind her desk, and then reached for her schedule today that Impa had left for her. Although everyone's help lessened her workload somewhat, the meetings were packed into her schedule more than ever. After all, it seemed as though every noble from every kingdom everywhere wanted to have a word with the princess of the most powerful nation in the land. Some of them were frightened, but most of them were curious about how Hyrule had managed to unite monsters and people together. Word had spread quickly about what had happened at Hyrule, and especially so after Vaati helped removed the curse over Labrynna. The princess had been somewhat worried about Labrynna's reaction, but the young princess Ambi seemed to be handling it well (and apparently she'd made quite an entrance riding atop the golem Arrghus's head when she'd arrived). King Roland had stepped down from the throne to allow Princess Ambi to take over as the new ruler, although he remained at the castle to help advise the princess. It had been a move to prevent Labrynna from falling into discontent towards their king, what with everything that had happened, and it seemed to be working all right for now. In fact, she heard that there was growing popularity for the young princess as stories of her daring exploits to save Labrynna and Hyrule spread, becoming increasingly exaggerated as it passed from one person to another. Rumor also had it that Princess Ambi was just as wild as Zelda herself, and that she could be seen frequenting the seafaring stalfos aboard their ghost ship from time to time.

As for Elise, she now lived in the village of the Blue Maiden. The Blue Maiden had helped stabilize her village during the plague crisis, and so much so that the villagers renamed the village after her. Zelda visited the village from time to time to make sure that the situation with Elise was okay, and it seemed like the former villain was sincerely trying to make up for everything she'd done. Some of the other shrine maidens who had been too frightened to be vocal about the monster situation were now more outspoken about their support for Hyrule's new alliance, and they were talking it over together about dedicating new shrines to some of the Master boss monsters, each paired with a shrine maiden. Zelda was a little hesitant since it seemed like the maidens' interpretation of faith was… somewhat extreme… but for now their open tolerance to monsters (although she wasn't completely sold on the idea of creating new dungeons… er, _shrines…_ for powerful and arrogant monsters like the Helmaroc King) was better than Elise's intolerance. As long as they didn't start talking about human sacrifices she would let them do whatever pleased them.

Zelda ran her finger across the list of names she was supposed to meet today. There was a Lady Dagna, a Lord Lenzo, a Zora ambassador, and a Lord Nesbitt who had… apparently lost some valuables after being assaulted by an unknown man at the masquerade ball. And then there was a-

_Swipe!_

Zelda didn't get to finish reading her list, because someone had snatched it away from her. Dangling in front of her face was the list she'd been holding in her hand, and the thief turned out to be Maribel the poe. Maribel giggled, and then tore up the list she'd swiped with a huge grin on her face while Zelda's jaw lowered more and more until it was completely open in shock.

"Maribel!" Zelda cried, standing up abruptly from her desk. "I can't believe you!"

Maribel stopped giggling, and then shrugged. "Orders from above, my Lady."

"From above? Oh. Oh I see." Zelda's expression of surprise became one that suggested she was extremely not amused. "If I see Vaati today he is in _so_ much trouble!" she grumbled. She was going to have to ask Impa if she had another copy of her schedule; she was going to do her duties whether Vaati wanted her to or not. She was about to go back to her desk when Maribel materialized in her chair, stopping her. Zelda crossed her arms and gave the ghost a long look. "All right, what's this about Maribel?"

The poe tilted her head, her ghostly bangs bobbing in front of her glowy yellow eyes. Maribel's lantern jangled as she tapped a finger along her cheek thoughtfully. After a few seconds, she gave a wide grin. "I think we'll go with Up-do and curls again, my lady. His lordship seemed to like that look on you as well."

"Um, what?" Zelda asked, confused, but Maribel didn't give her a lot of time to think. The monster vanished in an instant, leaving behind Zelda's empty chair, only to reappear again with a beautiful white dress. It was flowy and wispy like it was taken straight from the skies, like one of those clouds on a windswept summer day. The sleeves and collar were made of lace and studded with white gems, and just along the dress's hips was a splash of purple and gold. They were small gemstones in the shape of violets.

"Please hurry and put this on, my lady. We don't have a whole lot of time to get you ready for the ceremony today." Maribel said, pushing the dress into Zelda's hands.

Zelda looked at the flowy cloth in her hands blankly, trying to process just what was going on. Out of habit she tried to remember her schedule of the day, and how this might fit in with her appointments, but Maribel didn't give her a lot of time to ponder. The ghost zipped around the room, closing the windows, and waved at the princess to hurry up and get changed. "You don't want to keep everyone waiting," Maribel waggled a finger at the dazed Zelda.

Zelda, who had been in the middle of admiring the dress in her hands, looked up at the poe with a puzzled expression. "Everyone…?"

XXXXXXXXXXX

Maribel was right, everyone was waiting for her. Not just the people of Hyrule, but Roland and Ambi, and some visitors from Labrynna too. After she'd gotten changed and Maribel had helped with her hair and makeup with care, she'd been greeted by a familiar sentry eye. It had fluttered away, leading her towards the entrance hall where only Impa stood waiting. She'd surprised her by appearing in an outfit that was the same as her usual uniform, but in an elegant white and gold instead. Maribel had disappeared somewhere, leaving Impa, the sentry eye, and the princess alone to walk through the main doors of the castle.

As soon as the doors opened, Zelda was greeted by a thunder of cheers, and flower petals scattering through the air with the help of some peahats. Beautiful music from a string quartet gradually drowned out the voices which became hushed as she approached. Zelda was blinded by the sunlight, bright in the cloudless sky, and when her eyes adjusted she could see hundreds and hundreds of people looking up at her in awe. The Hylians and monsters, all intermingled, stood in neat rows next to each other. Kargarocs, the Helmaroc King's henchmen, lined the castle battlements. She stood stunned for a few seconds when the entire crowd, in perfect synchronization that indicated they had practiced for this, bowed their heads as she was slowly escorted down the white and gold aisle runner.

Maribel was right. Everyone was waiting for her. Not just the people of Hyrule, but some visitors from Labrynna as well.

The aisle runner led down the castle steps, past the gates, and towards the castle town square in front of the fountain. There was a tall platform just before it, which was surrounded by even more people and Hyrule's biggest, most intimidating boss monsters. Link and Ambi was on the platform near the Helmaroc King, who also appeared to be sporting a new, platinum white helm for the occasion. And there, at the center of it all, was Vaati with the most mischievous, troublesome grin on his face like he'd pulled the best prank on her. He was no longer wearing his usual purple attire, but instead was wearing a white coat with gold thread and purple gems like hers. His lavender hair was pulled back like when she'd seen him at their fake wedding a year ago…

Zelda fingers, which had been on Impa's arm, slipped away as she started running down the aisle. Her dress billowed behind her when the breeze suddenly picked up, sending the flower petals swirling in tiny whirlwinds. "Vaati!" she yelled, trying to pout through her smile as she ran up the steps of the platform to which he stood waiting, "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

The sorcerer reached for Zelda's outstretched hands and helped her up onto the stage. His grin widened as he repeated familiar words. "Please, princess, I thought this was obvious," he chuckled in that same, infuriating way, "Wasn't the dress a hint enough?" He almost laughed outright when he noticed Link and Ambi beginning to look confused. After all, he'd told everyone else that he'd already discussed a public wedding with the Princess. The truth was, he'd already asked her about a wedding before, except it had been a year ago at the Palace of Winds. He quietly shushed Ambi who had mouthed, "You didn't tell her about the wedding?" with an incredulous expression.

Vaati turned back to Zelda, expecting her to be as amused by the situation as he was, but was shocked when he saw tears running down her face. Alarmed that he might have done something awful, he knelt down a little to get a better look at her face. "Zelda…?"

There was a small, playful pat on his cheek, and Zelda's fingers were suddenly held against his face. She looked up with a mess of a smile, moisture pooling on her lashes. She choked back a laugh and she wiped her tears away from her face with her other hand, "And it never occurred to you that you might tell me about it _first_ before doing something like this?" she replied, just as she had done a year ago. She laughed outright, then, mumbling to herself about how much of an emotional mess she was, before picking up her composure again and beaming, "I can't believe everyone here… _you_… to do something like this for me is just…"

"Well remember how the last wedding wasn't much of a wedding?" Vaati asked, putting his hand over hers.

"You don't even like weddings."

"I don't. It's too much trouble to be honest. But I wanted to surprise you with one. One with good memories this time," he added with a small, sentimental smile. He didn't say it, but the princess knew he was thinking back on how she had refused to take vows that day, and that day had ended with his doomed fight with Link.

Zelda smiled, and then turned around to see that Impa had finally caught up and was standing at the foot of the platform. She was beaming at her, and just by her shoulders hovered the little sentry eye, perhaps the same exact one that had accompanied her at her fake wedding. She remembered thinking, a year ago, how she'd wished Impa had seen her in her wedding dress, and how she'd been sad when it hadn't been Impa walking down the aisle with her. Today was like something from a dream.

She turned around towards Vaati again, and she brought her face closer. A little overenthusiastic, their noses accidentally bumped into each other, and Zelda giggled. "I won't ever forget this day."

Vaati's lips brushed against hers once, and when the darknut acting as the officiate protested that they hadn't said their vows yet, smirked and kissed the smiling princess again. "And I won't let you forget. Never again."

_Fin_

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><p>fleets: And there it is, the ending. I have more to say about THE ending (next chapter), but for now I'd like to talk a bit about some decisions I made in this chapter. For one, as much as I disliked Elise, I couldn't have her die because of the reasons Zelda mentions. If she dies, that only means the hate was transferred back into the opposite direction. Prejudice is an ageless story, and I remember I was talking to a good friend and we got into a HUGE fight because I said something along the lines of "I hate discriminatory people." We argued and argued and it got really heated, until I finally realized that I was being an idiot: hating discriminatory people doesn't solve diddly squat. It's easy to hate someone, but what needs to happen is education and good, open dialogue. If Elise just ended up being "defeated," then nothing was really learned here.<p>

I actually had it so that Elise died, originally, before I had that argument with my amazing friend. I later realized that having her die was just my own personal want, and Zelda, the one who had ended up taking Vaati's side in WIR, would never fly with an ending like that.

I've always liked the idea of Vaati being helpful whether he wanted to be or not, especially since he's originally Minish (a race that practically exists to help). It doesn't stop him from complaining about it while he does it though.

As for Ambi, her section was based off of the Oracle of Ages Queen Ambi. In the Oracles game, Queen Ambi is tragically in love with a sailor who was turned into a Stalfos while out at sea (his entire crew was turned into the residents of a ghost ship), and the sailor can no longer return to Labrynna. Princess Ambi in this story would have a happier ending, and yes I am hinting that she later becomes involved with a stalfos ghost ship captain :P

Also the wedding only kind of sort of happened in WIR, so I had to fix that :)

I want to give a proper thank you, so that will be on the next page! I also have some explaining to do about what I plan to do next D:

**Also, because this is the last chapter, I will be responding personally to the reviews**. If you are reviewing as a guest, I unfortunately will not be able to respond as this is the final update :(

**Sorceress V:** Aww yeah that would be terrible of me if I'd killed of Zelda or Vaati D: I wanted something happy this time :)  
>Thank you so much for your support throughout this entire story! It was a blast writing this, and I really, REALLY enjoyed reading your responses :D<p>

**Flufux: **Ohhh I learned something new! Maybe that's why they also called her Knight Templar Meredith hmmm  
>I definitely enjoy writing dialogue more, and I struggle a lot (e.g. spend hours and hours staring at a single sentence) to make sure my fight scene isn't something like "and then he hit her, she hit him back, he hit her back, she hit him back harder... with an ultra mega finisher move!" or something lame like that haha. Thank you so much for your support! It's bittersweet to finally end things, but I hope to see you around! :) <p>

**Sybdoodles: **And I'm glad I'm sitting alone in my room because I made stupid happy faces reading your comment :D You've been such a great pillar of support over the years, I really can't thank you enough!  
>While I will no longer pursue fanfics for a while, I don't plan on stopping writing. One reason I want to take a break is because I want to give an honest shot at an original story (fantasy adventure, in the likes of the fanfics I've written so far). The fanfics have been practice, and now that I know I can write a 100K+ word story from start to finish, I want to try real worldcrafting. :)<p>

**MasterShortPantsx3: ** Well... it was originally going to be two more chapters, but I decided against it (reasons outlined in next "chapter"). It still feels a little weird that I'm done with this... I'll definitely miss talking to you guys here! D:

**GamerxOtaku: **Aww thank you, I'm glad you liked it! Also it's really great hearing from other VaaZel fans! I'm really sad it ended, especially since it's become almost a weekly routine for me to write a little VaaZel (and I'll really miss the amazing support you guys gave me over the last few years!) Thank you, thank you!

**AquilaMage: **It makes me so happy to hear you liked the story! I hope I was able to do the ending justice! I can't thank you enough for your continued support, and reading your comments over the months was a joy every time. I'll miss responding to you in these chapter ending sections :O

**Aerois: **Wedding? You read my mind XD As for babies... well, I can only point you to the next "chapter" for that so I won't mention it here ;) And yes! Thank you again for the perspective on Elise! :D And thank you so much for such enthusiastic support since WIR! I really enjoyed your comments, and whenever I had a bad day I'd sometimes go and read them again :P I'll miss responding to your comments!

**Cheza the Flower Maiden: **Vaati has changed quite a bit since WIR, hasn't he :P He's such a big softie now (although only to Zelda). Hahaha I really like that imagery and description of Vaati: "chronically makes bad decisions... surprisingly good instincts" XD  
>Aaaaahhh I can't believe this is over! I'm going to miss this, and miss all of you, who have been so kind to me! I'm truly blessed to have such amazing support: Thank you so much and a hundred million hugs!<p> 


	25. AN: Final Remarks from fleets

EDIT: **This is a double chapter update (24 and 25). **Be sure to read chapter 24 first before reading this one ;)

* * *

><p>This is it guys, the last chapter. Well, I guess it's more like "what was supposed to be a chapter." Hear me out, because this isn't just any final chapter to any story: it's going to be THE final chapter for a long while. Yes, After seven years of writing Zelda fanfics, I'm taking a break from fanfiction (but more on that later).<p>

Warning: lots of wild musings and cheesy thoughts ahead-

I learned A LOT of things while writing all of these stories, and one of the biggest lessons I learned is that no story truly ever ends. Even with happy endings, there's always going to be conflict and butting heads later on in life. Happiness isn't a constant, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's all the bad things in between that makes all of the happy moments worth it, and life without conflict isn't... life at all. So, no. Stories don't end. They only truly end when you die, and only if you don't believe in reincarnation and the next world or... something.

I think that's what I tried to accomplish when I wrote "Recollections" back in the day. I wanted the never-ending stories to stop, Beyond Centuries was driving me nuts (as much as I loved it), and I wanted some kind of definitive closure. Of course I went about it the wrong way (SPOILERS: everyone dies, no lie) and don't consider that story "fleets canon" anymore, but I was young and needed to learn that stories that don't end are fine the way they are. Also, why is it that all my stories are somewhat connected in some way? It's because for me, Beyond Centuries, my very first fanfic, never truly ended.

"Okay fleets, you're boring me. Where's this last chapter you promised and why are you wasting my time with this cheesy ramble? I only came here for the VaaZel."

I was going to write it. Heck, I was a third into writing it, and then decided to stop because this story ended exactly one chapter ago on a perfectly happy conclusion. The chapter I started writing brought this story back into more conflict, needing another complete arc to give it the closure it deserved. It was no longer a part of "Forget-me-nots," and a start of something new. IT HAD TO STOP. I knew that it would never stop unless I forced it to stop right here.

I _will_ tell you what it was about, though. It was about Vaati wondering what would happen if he outlived Zelda, since the Minish tended to live much longer than Hylians. He then realizes that no, Zelda was going to outlive _him_, in the form of reincarnations. Being the selfish idiot that he is, Vaati decides that he must have every single reincarnation of Zelda, or no one else can. Thus begins his quest to find a way to successfully reincarnate himself. Does this sound familiar to anyone who's read my other stories? Because I just told you the prologue of "Avilux Ignis," my other Vaati sort-of modern AU :P Of course this ends up being a stupid thing to do, which is the entire premise of the Avilux series. Had I known I would be so into VaaZel when writing AI/OA, I would have given a better shoutout to it. Alas, I never knew I would be writing a fullblown VaaZel when I was writing AI/OA, so there's that. That's one thing I'd tell my past self if I had a time machine: to include some kind of nod to VaaZel.

The chapter itself becomes pretty dark, then, with Zelda telling him it was a stupid thing to do and he should stop messing with reincarnation, and him not listening to her, stubborn butthead that he is (of course).

"But fleets, doesn't that mean Vaati's going to go after Zelda's descendants sooooo that's like... incest? Gross." Yeah, I was going to address that too.

In the FaV world, Vaati and Zelda never end up having kids. Biology works against them, and it turns out that Minish-demon-whatever-the-hell-Vaati-is-anymore can't make babies with Hylians. Of course, being royalty, this presents a problem since Zelda needs an heir. Although rare, it has happened in the past where the royals weren't able to bear children, and what happened in these cases was to adopt. The public never knew about this, and it was a secret kept only by the Sheikah and the royal family (they tried to find cousins if they could, but that wasn't always an option). In terms of the Triforce, it always managed to find its way to the royal princess somewhere along the new bloodline, just like how not all of the heroes are related to each other (okay, sorry if this goes against your own Triforce theories because we're starting to enter the fleets' BS zone. I'm just running with the BS now).

Vaati does not like the idea of adoption. He's warmed up to the idea after numerous conversations with Zelda, but he is _super_ insecure about it since it reminds him too much of what he went through with Ezlo (in "Tainted Heart," he's adopted). He hates the idea that no matter what he does, Ezlo's life just seems to follow him around everywhere. He knows everything will turn out fine, but the possibility of him repeating Ezlo's mistakes makes him endlessly queasy about the whole idea.

I was also going to include a joke in the conversation between Zelda and Vaati where Zelda asks what Vaati would have named a baby girl if they could have a child (in another world *whistles innocently*) and, lazy and annoyed, he snaps back irritably "Hilda? I don't know it's not like it'll ever happen." :P

Um, so yeah, that's another conversation that's not entirely happy, and wasn't going to be resolved with a single chapter. I also have this... tragic headcanon... that the female royals in Hyrule never live to old age because _we never see them old in the games. Seriously where is Zelda's mom in any of the games?_! WE NEVER SEE HER. I think having the Triforce of Wisdom screws up your lifespan or something, because we never see the queen and we always see a very young princess running (or trying to run) her kingdom. So if Zelda dies young(ish), then where does that leave Vaati? My guess is he'll figure out his reincarnation spell, and then kill himself early because he's an idiot and thinks he'll just start life all over again with the next-to-be incarnation of Zelda (I repeat, he's an idiot). And of course this leaves the poor adopted baby to rule Hyrule all on their own with the help of an aging Impa. Which throws Hyrule back into chaos, just in time for the conflicts preceding Rend. Or some such. Good job Vaati. Good job.

Well, now you know what I had planned and why I decided to stop FaV with the happy wedding chapter. Stories... they don't end.

For the record, even though Vaati and Zelda may have had numerous conflicts in their life together, I'd like to think that they were both happy at the end, whenever that may be (like... Vaati's story isn't technically over yet since we don't know what happens after OA, but I'd say he's happy. Oh, he also eventually gets back together with Zelda even though it's a long, complicated journey like it was in WIR and FaV, heh. Some things don't change, yeah?).

That's all I had to say regarding this "chapter" I suppose.

**I can't describe enough how** thankful I am to each and every one of you who have read my stories. I still vaguely remember when I first started writing Beyond Centuries. I was super nervous about posting something online, wondering what people would think of it, and if I was the only one enjoying Link and Vaati's adventure. Although I do write for myself and would have stopped a long time ago if I found no enjoyment in writing, I'd be lying if I said that your support didn't keep me going for this long. My first fanfic published was in August 2008... almost exactly seven years. I learned a lot about myself during this time, and also got to explore ideas that makes humans well, human. Writing these stories helped me think about things like insecurities, fears, conflict, and how we deal with them. It helped me think about how my own actions influence others around me, and where ideals even come from. I've made mistakes, too, and each story is like a permanent record of all of the naive things I used to think.

FOR EXAMPLE: there is something I am endlessly ashamed of now that I never mentioned. I just want to say I was an even bigger idiot back when I first started writing than I am now. I disliked female characters and was very anti-girl based on my own experiences in middle school. My own experience was that the majority of girls in my class were catty, nosey, and two-faced, and I saw friends betraying each other while pretending to be besties. For instance, I remember one of my so called "best friends" telling my other friend "let's not hang out with (fleets) please" right in front of me because they thought I couldn't understand English (I'd just moved to America at the time, and was in the middle of learning English). And this was after she insisted we trade friendship bracelets and made plans for the weekend. These sorts of things happened not only to myself, but I observed them happening to other friends, too. All my girl friends holding sleepover parties, and then talking shit about them when one of them left the room. Some days it was so bad that I hid in the bathroom to cry.  
>This negative experience seriously affected my writing, and I avoided including female characters in my earlier works. My bias increased when my male friends weren't as awful as my female classmates. Maybe it helped that they didn't really invite me to pajama parties to two-face shittalk about each other, heh :P<br>College changed everything. I left my tiny community and came to a new one with hundreds of different opinions and values, and learned how stupid I was for holding this bias. I'm not going to explain my life story here, but know that I now enjoy writing characters of all types. I'm less sensitive to "oh! I'm writing a male character now. And oh here's a female character," as in I'm not so focused on the male/female distinction, but more on whether they're good fits to what I'm writing.

Another regret was making Vaati/Gale's homophobia too... I don't know... I'm looking back and now I think it wasn't necessary to any of my stories at all even though I characterized him as such for (reasons I've already explained in relevant stories). I sometimes like to throw small bits here and there that showcase a characterization I have for a character, and I think that was one of those things that could have just stayed in my head. Put a filter over your mouth, fleets, no one wants your verbal vomit. Or, you know, if I DID include it, then I could have had Dark (who I see as promiscuous bi) to lay on a big smackdown on Vaati/Gale's behavior and we could have had an interesting discussion there. ANYWAYS I had to get that off my chest because it had been bugging me. I think I picked up a few important life lessons over the last seven years. Hopefully it didn't make me MORE of an asshole (please let me know if I'm a bigger idiot than I started).

**I wouldn't have been able to have as fulfilling a journey without your continued support, and for this I thank you from the bottom of my heart. **

With each story, I also became more confident about writing original characters. Back when I first started, I didn't want to write about ANY OCs because I was so insecure about sharing them with people (and when I did create them, it was only because they were necessary for the plot, resulting in a more one dimensional character than they could have been). You readers (and reviewers!) gave this insecure author the confidence to share more of themselves through OCs, so thank you for that, as well.

Speaking of OCs, I don't plan on stopping writing, even though I do plan on taking a break from fanfiction for a while. There are two reasons why I plan to stop writing fanfics. The first is that I feel old, and not in the literal age sense. I no longer have that same, drunken, enthusiastic energy for writing about the Legend of Zelda that I used to have. I think part of it is that I've exhausted all Vaati-related stories that I've ever wanted to write. I DID have an idea about a person-gets-sucked-into-Zelda-world-through-Dethl-nightmare story, but I've only had small bursts of enthusiasm for it and after a few days it will dwindle into a "meh." I actually think it will be a pretty good story since I love its tragic theme (e.g. What is freedom worth? Is it worth the death of an entire world? Is it worth the death of your friends? If your friends want to support your quest to freedom even if it means their deaths, would you still go through with pursuing it?), but... there's a laziness that plagues my brain.

The second reason, related to the first I think, is that I'd rather write original stories now. This is especially true since most of my new story ideas involve a heavy cast of OCs with a few dabbles of canon characters (I mean, even OA had THREE "canon-not-really" characters and at least six major OCs), and when I plan new stories now I can't help but think, "Why not write an original story instead?" I would LOVE to write a fantasy adventure story, and it'll probably be based on some themes I tossed around in my fanfics so far. I'm using Avilux as a base point to start branching out into original story worldbuilding, so we'll see how that goes :)

This... doesn't mean I'll disappear completely. I still welcome PMs and love reading them (and I'll try to answer them as quick as possible), either on this website or deviantart. I've also had a secret-not-so-secret tumblr account where I post things from time to time, and am welcome to comments :) I'm under the name **thewishingcap** at the moment. **I also have a separate blog for an original story **but please PM me if you would like the link for it. FYI I am a terrible blogger/respondent and if I take forever replying, it's 99.999 percent that I'm not intentionally ignoring you and most likely I got distracted. I'll also pop by every so often on my deviantart account, **fleetfleets.** I will most likely post ramblings/sketches of any new story concepts on tumblr rather than deviantart since I don't have the energy to make polished deviations, so you'll still (hopefully) hear from me from time to time!

There's always adventure. There's always magic! As long as you're living you'll have a story all your own, and an amazing one at that :)

Thank you for the last seven years. It has been an honor.


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